History, Heritage & Archaeology

Celebrating Scotland's history and cultural heritage from the Highlands to the Lowlands, this bumper Issue marks 2017 as Visit Scotland's Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. Travel back in time via insight into the Jacobites, the Celts, the Picts and Enlightenment Edinburgh, and find out about pioneers in industry and culture. For readers with more literary tastes, we preview two forthcoming books featuring stories by top authors inspired by the country's rich - and sometimes dark - built heritage...

Bonnie Prince Charlie & the Jacobites

Behind-the-scenes of the major NMS exhibition

Coinciding with the major exhibition on currently at the National Museum of Scotland, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites, we go behind-the-scenes to find out about how the diverse exhibits – artwork, documents, ornate objects and more – shape understanding of both the ‘Young Pretender’ and ‘the last Jacobite challenge’.

Extract from Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites Edited by David Forsyth, Principal Curator, Medieval-Early Modern Collections, Scottish History & Archaeology Department National Museums Scotland Published by National Museums Scotland – Publishing

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Enlightenment Edinburgh: David Robinson Reviews

This month our columnist David Robinson travels back in time to Edinburgh in the 18th-century, when Scotland’s capital was the intellectual hub of the Western world. With Shelia Szatkowski as an illuminating guide, David encounters many new facts about the city, making him look at, and appreciate, Edinburgh in a new (or perhaps more accurately old) light.

David Robinson Reviews: Enlightenment Edinburgh by Shelia Szatkowski Published by Birlinn

She was a rebel – the “Little Sisters of No Mercy” had seen to that – so when Sheila Szatkowski left school in Northern Ireland, she didn’t want to go to university there. The Troubles were raging, the tribal divisions were deepening, and in those circumstances, a real rebel doesn’t yearn to stay too close to the farm she grew up on near Magherafelt, Co. Derry, and the fierce predictability of the province’s politics. Not when she can g...

Introducing New Book Bloody Scotland

Twelve of Scotland’s top crime writers write short stories inspired by twelve of our most iconic buildings

#HHA: Making Scottish History Fun for Children

A whistle stop top tour of four reads to get kids inspired for #HHA17

The Beginnings of Celtic History

‘With regard to land use, the early Celts of central Europe belong in a tradition that can be traced from the Neolithic.’

Whose Heritage Is It Anyway? Asks Ian Davidson

‘I was surrounded by people and places where heritage could be sensed in the living dialect and the ancient stone circles.’

Preston Watson: Dundee’s Pioneer Aviator

Dundee’s aviation pioneer who beat the Wright Brothers into the air by at least five months in 1903.

Mousa Broch: Stone Mother by Kathleen Jamie

‘There’s a hearth space, a shallow tank, a smell of stone and earth, and silence.’

Politics, Potions and Pamphlets in 17th Century Edinburgh by Heather Richardson

‘The battle between the two young men had become a publication war, not unlike the Internet spats of our own time.’

A Pilgrim’s Guide to Iona Abbey

‘St John was revered by the Celtic monks for his emphasis on mystical contemplation.’

British Monarchs & History in Coins

‘Coins are the tell-tale evidence throughout history of conquests and defeats, of power struggles and pride.’

The Beast On The Broch

‘Someone in our clan, in the long-distant past, had seen a beast. A monster. What did that mean?’

Conceiving A Nation: Scotland to 900 AD

‘The island was not separated from the Continent by water; it was connected to it by water.’

A Perfect Chemistry Q&A

‘As a painter, Hill wanted to record this moment because he knew it was monumental; he knew history would change as a result of this.’

Highland Survivor: The Story of the Far North Line

‘The severity of what Beeching proposed was reflected in the Scotsman’s coverage, occupying almost the entire front page.’

Hidden Heritage: The Duart Castle Shipwreck

‘Like shipwrecks of all periods, the Swan is a time-capsule of her era.’

Exploring Archaeology in Caithness

‘If you learn anything about brochs it should be that Caithness has more examples per square kilometre than any other area of Scotland.’

Dùn Èistean: Ness

‘This period of history in Lewis and Harris is not well documented and had been subject to little archaeological research.’

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