The history of Scotland was effectively wiped clean during the last ice age. Since then a rich and varied history has been written for Scotland.

The ice age began to retreat and by about 11,000BC Scotland was free of ice. Vegetation and animals returned followed by man. The date for man’s return had been set at around 9,000BC to 8,000BC. Recently evidence of man’s return has been found in Islay which has been dated to 10,800BC. Perhaps The western isles thawed out earlier or perhaps they had always been ice free. Either way it seems that hunting parties had ventured up the west coast in search of game. Genetically modern day Britons are very similar to these original settlers. Invasions by the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans and Vikings have not diluted the genetic characteristics as much as you may have thought.

The pre-history of Scotland followed the same lines as the rest of Britain. Scotland had its own henges, stone circles and the like. The Bronze and Iron ages came and went and then the Romans and the start of a written history for Scotland. The Romans controlled the lowland of Scotland up to the Antonine Wall. Beyond that they were faced by the Picts. The Romans were never able to subdue the Picts or perhaps there was nothing north of the wall that was worth the effort.

The next wave of invaders was the Anglo-Saxons. Their influence reached into parts of the Scottish lowlands. The Vikings settled, at least for a time, coastal areas around Scotland – mainly in the north and west.

The wars with England and the eventual union of the crowns when James VI of Scotland became King James I of England played a major role in the shaping of Scotland as we know it now.

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