| Sometime around 2200 BC society in Prehistoric Scotland
was dramatically altered when the first metal workers immigrated
here from what is now Holland. This migration and its societal
influences saw the culture that spawned the large communal
burial monuments like barrows and cairns falling out of
fashion, replaced by a more materialistic, individual centred
culture which was evidenced by the increase in high status
objects found in the archaeological record. Jewellery made
from precious metals like gold and exotic materials like
amber and jet, tools and weapons made from copper and bronze,
all give the impression of a society consisting of an elite
class of chieftains and warriors holding sway over the
populace. The communal Cairn and barrow burials of the
Neolithic were supplanted by individual cremation or inhumation
burials in stone lined chambers or cists, often complete
with expensive grave goods, as the ancients tried to “take
it with them.”
The people of Bronze Age Scotland were to experience a
dark turn in fortunes when they were confronted with a
radical climate change. Possibly made worse by a series
of cataclysmic volcanic eruptions in Iceland around 1159
BC, the climate of Scotland became much colder, wetter
and turbulent. Crops began to fail, livestock sickened
and died, and the people were driven to violence and strife
as they struggled to control enough natural resources to
survive. As the Bronze Age drew to a close, fortified hill
forts began to appear on prominent points in the landscape,
possibly a sign that the people were forced to defend themselves
and their livelihood from their neighbours on a regular
basis. The common thread throughout all of these changes
was the mystical skill of the metal worker. The increase
of tribal warfare and strife drove the advances in the
metal worker’s craft, as better weapons were needed
and more status items were desired to display one’s
power and influence in troubled times.
On site is a reconstructed wattle and daub Metal Smith’s
Workshop. Activities include demonstrations of bronze and
pewter casting, mould and crucible making, charcoal production
and jewellery making.
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