Thursday, December 1, 2011

For the Historically inclined.....

For many Glencoe will always be associated with the massacre of 13th February 1692, but the area’s history stretches back long before the clan name of MacDonald became associated with the area. Indeed the MacDougalls were here until the 1320's when they were evicted by order of King Robert The Bruce, in favour of Clan MacDonald who had supported him in his quest for the Scottish Crown.
While no upstanding evidence survives of the very first settlers in the Glen, the shores of Loch Leven would have provided resources a-plenty for hunter-gatherers some 6-8,000 years ago. 
Around 4-6,000 years ago a more settled existence of farming would have been seen along the shores and in the glens, which continued into historic times.  More recent land-uses have either destroyed or covered over the remains associated with these prehistoric and early historic peoples of Glencoe.
But there is no reason to suppose that archaeological material is not awaiting discovery in the area. Indeed there are one or two interesting sites in the glen which may even date back to the Bronze Age (4,000 years ago). On the north side of Loch Leven, workers digging in the Ballachulish Moss in 1880 found a large carved wooden female figure, encased in a wickerwork shrine, which had been set there over 3,000 years ago (The Ballachulish Goddess).  Now in the National Museums of Scotland, this most unusual find provides a glimpse of Iron Age ritual and religious beliefs.

                                                        

1 comment:

  1. Wow what amazing information. I loved it, thanks for sharing it gives a greater view of the area.

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