|
mcleanscotland are local Scots who pride ourselves on showing you the nooks & crannies other tours companies pass on by. We can show you those hidden gems even Scots do not know! |
|
SCOTTISH FACTS - MAYBE YOU DID NOT KNOW!
Bronze Age dug-out was found south side of the River Tay, Many moons ago Scotland was virtually covered in dense forest, there was only one way to get around – by boat! Archaeologists are hoping to learn more about how prehistoric Scots used the vast network of rivers and lochs, with the excavation of a 3,000-year-old log boat, it was my drinking pal Ray ( an archaeologist himself) who told me of this one. The Bronze Age dug-out was found south side of the River Tay, in autumn 2001. Radio carbon tests conducted later dated the 30-foot-long log boat, which had been carved out of a single piece of oak, to around 1000BC. David Strachan, archaeologist at the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust (PKHT), says the log boat was a hugely significant find. "It is fantastic. Generally log boats found in Scotland tend to date from 500BC to 1000AD. This boat dates from 1000BC so that puts it in the later Bronze Age, so it's quite an early example. At first, it was decided to leave the boat where it was found, now archaeologists from the PKHT, in partnership with Perth Museum, Historic Scotland and the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), are preparing to lift it onto dry land to be conserved. Seven log boats were discovered in the Tay area in the 19th century, but only one, dating from around 500AD, still survives and is now on display in Dundee Museum. Scottish
inventions SCOTLAND:
Northernmost country of the United Kingdom. Area:
30,421 sq mi (78,789 sq km). Population (2001):
5,062,011. Capital: Edinburgh. The population is a
blend of Celtic, Angle, and Norman ancestry.
Languages: English, Scottish Gaelic, and Scots.
Religion: Church of Scotland (Presbyterian;
official). Currency: pound sterling. Scotland has
three major geographic regions. The Highlands, in
the north, are occupied by a series of lochs and the
Grampian Mountains. The Lowlands, which include some
of Scotland's best farmland, comprise the other two
major regions: the Midland Valley (Central Lowlands)
and the Southern Uplands; the Southern Uplands
feature narrow, flat valleys separating table
mountains. Scotland has a temperate oceanic climate.
Important industries are coal and oil production,
electronics, forestry, and marine fishing. Picts
inhabited the region when it was invaded by the
Romans c. AD 80. In the 5th century it split into
four kingdoms under the Picts, Scots, Britons, and
Angles. Scottish unification began in the 9th
century. It came under a heavy Anglicizing influence
from the 11th century, and its ruler was forced to
pay homage to the English crown in 1174, leading to
numerous future disputes. The Scottish and English
kingdoms were united in 1603 when James VI, son of
Mary, Queen of Scots, ascended the English throne as
James I. Scotland became part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain in 1707, when the parliaments of
both governments passed the Act of Union. The
English prevailed in two Scottish rebellions in the
18th century, and after 1745 the history of Scotland
became part of the history of Great Britain.
Scotland has no sovereign executive but retains
vestiges of ancient sovereignty in its own legal and
educational systems. In 1997 the Scots passed a
referendum that allowed them to establish their own
parliament in Edinburgh to vote on wide-ranging
political issues while remaining part of the United
Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament first convened in
1999. |
|
Contact address: Ground Floor, Armagh, Friarton
Road, Perth, PH2 8DE MEMBERS OF VISIT SCOTLAND AND THE WORLDWIDE CLAN MACLEAN ASSOCIATION. PART OF DALRIADA GROUP. |
||||
Copyright McLean Scotland. strictly no unauthorised reuse of
any element of this site. All rights reserved 2005. |