Listen "Scotland's Enigmatic Ancient Structures"
Episode Synopsis
Brochs. Early archaeologists believed that they must have been built by the Danish, that the indigenous population could never have managed it. More recent suggestions have been that architects travelled Scotland, spreading the plans for these Iron Age ‘round houses on steroids’. Iain Maclean came on The Ancients to shed a little light on the truth of the stone buildings found across Scotland, particularly on the coastline. Whilst mentions of Romans, Egyptians and Greeks are familiar to our ears, the Scottish Celts have fallen under the radar. By studying brochs, archaeologists have not only uncovered the amazing architecture which has kept many of them standing, but have also learned more about the societies that built them. By examining the spread of the structures over time, they have been able to track changing climates; and by excavating the contents of the buildings, they have been able to track the communities’ ways of living off the land. Iain dreamt up the concept of the Broch Project for Caithness and, when he isn’t building brochs from various different materials, is spreading knowledge of this little understood part of Scottish history through events and community outreach.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More episodes of the podcast The Ancients
The Ice Age
28/12/2025
The Minoan Labyrinth
25/12/2025
Emperor Diocletian and the Great Persecution
21/12/2025
Paestum: Ancient Greeks in Italy
18/12/2025
Stegosaurus: Titan of the Jurassic
14/12/2025
Rise of King Herod
11/12/2025
The Ten Commandments
07/12/2025
Origins of Chocolate
04/12/2025
The Khmer Empire: Angkor Wat
30/11/2025
The World's Oldest Letters
27/11/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.