Douglas MacQueen's blog

Staffa (Scottish Gaelic: Stafa) is an island of the Inner Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan a-staigh) off the west coast of Scotland. Now uninhabited there is evidence that humans inhabited the Island as long as 3,800 years ago. Some years ago archaeologists working with the National Trust for Scotland discovered evidence for human activity during the Bronze Age on Staffa. Research continues to try and determine whether Staffa was home to a permanent settlement or visited as a place of ritual. 

A new opinion poll conducted by Survation, points to continuing increase in support for Scotland’s separation from the United Kingdom (UK) and is now recorded at 54% in favour. The poll also suggests that the Scottish National Party (SNP) will win the 2021 Scottish election with a “commanding lead”. That election will be to the Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) which is the devolved legislature of Scotland. It is scheduled to be held on 6 May 2021. The Scottish Green Party which supports independence has also seen a rise in support.

Described as one of the "most important structures of medieval Scotland" a lost medieval bridge over the River Teviot (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Tìbhiot) has been found. The bridge, near the Scottish Borders village of Ancrum.(Scottish Gaelic: Alan Crom) has been rediscovered after being hidden beneath the river for centuries. A joint press release between Historic Environment Scotland (Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) and Ancrum and District Heritage Society (ADHS) explained how the bridge was found and the significance of the radiocarbon dating. 

Cruden Bay (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Chruidein) is a village on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Archaeologists have now discovered an ancient settlement at Cruden Bay, dating back to the Iron Age. The site was earmarked for development when digging revealed a number of prehistoric features and Cameron Archaeology began the careful process of evaluating the area of the find.  Work carried out in May and June of 2019 has now been confirmed as having uncovered some 23 structures along with prehistoric pottery and flint tools.

A Rowan Tree that once stood on its own in the Carrifran Valley has been voted Scotland's Tree of the Year 2020. The tree, known as 'The Survivor', became a symbol for a restoration group working in the area. For years the single rowan tree clung desperately to the side of a burn. The surrounding landscape had been mostly stripped bare by millennia of sheep, goats and deer grazing, farming, harvesting and fire. Similar to much of the rest of the Southern Uplands (Scottish Gaelic: Na Monaidhean a Deas) of Scotland.  

The richness of Scottish art history is being explored in an on-line special fundraising event on October 22. Artist, broadcaster and author Lachlan Goudie will be drawing from his recent book ‘The Story of Scottish Art’.  He will look at the interconnected chapters in Scottish art history covering a period of 5000 years, from the neolithic to Pictish eras, and onwards to the Glasgow Boys and Scottish colourists. 

Portmahomack (Scottish Gaelic: Port Mo Chalmaig) is a fishing village situated on the Tarbat Peninsula in the north of Scotland. Over many centuries it was part of a strong Pictish community, many traces of which can still be seen in the form of carved stones. There is evidence of much earlier human settlement dating back to the 2nd century BC. The remains of an Iron Age broch can also be found to the west of the village.

There is an old military airfield in Angus, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Aonghas, Alba). On 26 February 1913, Montrose Air Station became the first operational military aerodrome to be established in Scotland. It closed permanently for operations on 4 June 1952, but is now the site of Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre. This is a registered Scottish charitable organisation run by the Ian McIntosh Memorial Trust which has a collection of contemporary photographs, artefacts and memorabilia.

The Book of Deer (Leabhar Dhèir in Gaelic) is set to return home to Scotland after hundreds of years. It was produced by Pictish-era monks and contains the earliest examples of written Gaelic. The book was written in Latin on vellum sometime between the 8th and 10th Century and later had Scottish Gaelic notes on local land transactions added into its margins. It is also adorned with Gaelic designs and once belonged to a monastery at Old Deer, Aberdeenshire (Scottish Gaelic: Dèir, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain). 

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland have found multiple skeletons of the species, named Oksoko avarsan. Feathered and with a large toothless beak, the creature dates from about one hundred million years ago. Discovered in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia it had just two fingers on each arm and grew to two metres long. The team said the discovery could help explain how animals lose fingers and toes through evolution. Pointing to an adaptability that enabled the animals to spread during the Late Cretaceous Period (100.5–66 million years ago).