Archaeology in the Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides have been, and continue to be, an area of great interest to archaeologists and have offered a vast amount of information about what Scotland was like throughout history.

Neolithic stone structures, medieval churches and even mummies have all been found on the archipelago and many archaeological sites are open to the public to explore.

A number of prehistoric stone circles have been found on the Outer Hebrides, the pre-eminent of which is undoubtedly the Callanish Standing Stones.  Situated on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, the standing stones are made of Lewisian Gneiss, a metamorphic rock thought to be around 3 billion years old.  The stones were erected around 5000 years ago, even before the Egyptian Pyramids were built.   The purpose of the standing stones’ existence is still unknown although excavation in the 1980s found that a burial tomb had been added to the stones sometime after they had been constructed.

Another site of high archaeological importance can be found a few miles from the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis.  Dun Carloway is one of the best preserved Brochs (stone-built circular constructions) in Britain.  There is still uncertainty as to why these brochs were built, but it is now accepted by many that they were the homes and defensive forts of wealthy and powerful families during the Iron Age. 

Standing at nearly seven metres tall (although archaeologists estimate it originally stood at 13m), Dun Carloway is thought to have been constructed around 2000 years ago and the construction and thickness of the walls (up to 3 metres) indicate how suitable they would be for defence, protecting residents from attacks on their township. 

Further south in the chain of islands, the discovery of prehistoric mummies indicates that the practice of embalming the deceased wasn’t confined to Egypt.

In Cladh Hallan, South Uist, two mummies were found during excavations between 1989 and 2002.  They were of a male and female who died around 1600BC and 1300BC respectively, and who were part of a much larger Neolithic community on the island. Head over to Outer Hebrides Unearthed where an exciting new Augmented Reality app has been developed where life size reconstructions of prehistoric settlements in Uist are brought to life. 

The archaeological work undertaken in the Outer Hebrides has provided us with invaluable information about the fascinating history of the Isles.  Work is still underway today to try and uncover some of the mysteries surrounding the first inhabitants of the Outer Hebrides and many more ancient discoveries will undoubtedly continue to be unearthed.