British Isles - a piece of visual history

[DennisN]

British Isles - a piece of visual history (1/2)

TL;DR (too long; didn't read): Old photos of historical sites on the British Isles.

Since there seems to be quite a few PF members interested in history, I thought I'd share a couple of old photos of mine of historical sites in the United Kingdom (Scotland and Orkney). I've recently reproduced them to digital form (taking photos of photos). The oldest site of them all, the amazing Skara Brae, appears last in the second post.

If you really want to get in the mood when reading and watching these photos, you could also put on some medieval music , e.g. this clip on youtube.

Well, off to history we go...The Wallace Monument

No, this is not Saurons tower Barad-dûr, this is the Wallace Monument, a 67 meter high tower in Scotland, built in 1869 in memory of William Wallace. And inside this tower there is a big sword...The Wallace Sword

The Wallace Sword is a 13th-century two-handed sword which has been claimed to have belonged to William Wallace (but it is disputed). The sword is on display inside the Wallace Monument.

The sword is ridiculously large. I stand to the left and my friend to the right, partly pixelated since I'm not that keen on being on photos, and I haven't asked permission of my friend either to post it here.Eilean Donan

Eilean Donan is a very small island with a reconstruction* of the original 13th century castle. This very picturesque and photogenic castle has appeared in quite a few movies, e.g. the original Highlander and the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. The small castle is located on a small tidal island with a stone bridge leading to it.

Not only the castle is nice to look at, the surroundings are beautiful too.

* Edit: I had somehow forgot that this is actually a 20th century reconstruction of the castle.

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle at Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle (13th - 16th centuries) is a ruined castle located beside the famous Scottish lake Loch Ness. At the time there was also a large trebuchet there which can be seen in the lower left of the photo. The black thingy out on the lake is probably a small boat, but you never know... The Scottish Highlands

Next up are a four photos of the Scottish Highlands. They don't show anything of historical interest though, but it would be a crime not to show them, since the Highlands can be very beautiful. Very!

A lovely valley with clouds hanging over the mountain peaks.
Three small waterfalls can be seen in the center.

Typical Highlands, rolling hills and small mountains, and with few signs of civilization.

A field in the Highlands. The Highlands are in general very scarcely populated, so it's very easy to find places where you can be completely alone. In fact, it is far more difficult to find people here .

Another photo with clouds hanging over a mountain peak.

 

[DennisN]

British Isles - a piece of visual history (2/2)Edinburgh Castle

The old Edinburgh Castle (11th century) is located in the center of Edinburgh on a volcanic rock called Castle Rock.

As can be seen here it is a very strategically well placed castle.

Bagpipers in Edinburgh, provided more for context than historical interest .Next up we've got Orkney, a small archipelago located off the north coast of Scotland. There are numerous interesting historical sites here, and here are two of them...Ring of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar is a neolithic stone circle (ca 2500 - 2000 BCE) which got World Heritage status in 1999 along with some other sites on Orkney.

And last, but most certainly not the least, we've got the small but amazing Skara Brae...Skara Brae (ca 3180 BCE)

Skara Brae is a neolithic settlement which was occupied between ca 3180 BCE and 2500 BCE. So this "apartment block" is more than 5000 years old.

Let that sink in... : it is more than five thousand years old.

It is older than the pyramids of Giza, which were built 500 years later. It is also older than Stonehenge. Rome, which is a very famous historical city and the first capital of the Roman Empire, was founded ca 2000 years after people were living at Skara Brae.

And I remember our visit very well. It felt very special because it was the oldest place built by human hands I've ever visited, and it still is. We also visited the site very early in the morning, and we were completely alone there.

An overview shot of Skara Brae; the area of the settlement is fairly small, ca one or two tennis courts, I'd say. The person at the edge of the settlement is me.

A plan of Skara Brae at the site.

The dwellings in more detail. The rectangular construction on the ground in the lower right is a hearth.

Another hearth can be seen in this photo.There are many small compartments and "channels" in the settlement:

I think the construction to the right was a bed, I guess.Home furnishings, neolithic style:

It looks like the construction to the left was a cupboard, maybe?And last, a compartment (?) detail in the settlement:

Maybe this was a joint compartment (?) or some sort of window, I don't know.Well, that's it from historical Britain. I hope you enjoyed it!

 

[Astronuc]

The sword is ridiculously large.

It looks like a Claymore, which was common in the 1500s-1700s, but were apparently in existence in the 1400s. I don't know about 1200s-1300s.
https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/objects-and-artworks/highlights/M2-1949

Supposedly, William Wallace had a broadsword or two-handed (Zweihänder) sword.

Some other history

 

[DennisN]

It looks like a Claymore

Yes, I thought so too (though I'm not very familiar with sword types).
Thanks for the info, I'll check out the links you posted!

 

[pinball1970]

Yes, I thought so too (though I'm not very familiar with sword types).
Thanks for the info, I'll check out the links you posted!

Great images as always. If get out there again I will try my best.

 

[DennisN]

I did a little research on the other historical sites on Orkney, and got an instant intense urge of visiting Orkney again .

I've seen quite a few historical places in different countries, including big and impressive ones, but there was a certain magic to Orkney and Skara Brae which felt very special. It was like visiting a really, really old place where you got a view into how people lived back then, 5000 years ago. You couldn't help but starting to wonder about the people that lived there once a very long time ago, e.g. in what ways were they different from us, and in what ways were they similar to us?

When we visited Orkney (around ca 2000) we only spent a day there, visiting Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar and some other place which I could not identify (I have some photos of it, but I could not identify it using the internet (Google Maps and Wikipedia)).

Here's a lovely video I saw today which very nicely shows the two sites Skara Brae and Broch of Gurness
(I guess it's shot with drone(s)):

Scotland's Most Mysterious Stone Age Settlements (Smithsonian Channel)
But there are numerous interesting historical sites there, all within a pretty small area, for instance:

Knap of Howar (a farmstead occupied from 3700 BC to 2800 BC, so it's even older than Skara Brae)

(Photo by Me677, public domain)

Ness of Brodgar (archaeological site, earliest structures built between 3300 and 3200 BC)

(Photo by S Marshall, Creative Commons)

Maeshowe (a chambered cairn built ca 2800 BC; maybe we visited this, I can't really remember )

Broch of Gurness (a broch village from ca 500 - 200 BC)

(Photo by Rob Burke, Creative Commons)

How to visit Orkney:

When we visited we took a ferry to Orkney from Scrabster/Thurso on the Scottish north coast, but according to Wikipedia you can also fly there from Scotland.

For more info about historic Orkney, see:

• Prehistoric Orkney (Wikipedia)
• History of Orkney (Wikipedia)
• Heart of Neolithic Orkney (Wikipedia)

 

[Astronuc]

I've been researching my ancestry, which is mostly confined England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with some Swedish/Danish/Noregian (Viking) influence and Germanic Eu (Angeln und Sachens) through periodic invasions.

I'm alive today because my ancestors survive British history with warfare, famine and plagues/disease.

After Rome - The War For Britain // History Documentary​

More recently - The Grim Reality Of Ordinary Life Throughout British History | History Of Britain | All Out History - narrated by Tony Robinson

 

[DaveC426913]

If I had known I didn't have to scale fence and crawl in mud to get the right shot...

 

[Vanadium 50]

The old Edinburgh Castle (11th century) is located in the center of Edinburgh on a volcanic rock called Castle Rock.

I bought a very nice. albeit small, professionally engraved and printed likeness of Edinburgh Castle. Cost me a pound, Exactly a pound.

 

[pinball1970]

I bought a very nice. albeit small, professionally engraved and printed likeness of Edinburgh Castle. Cost me a pound, Exactly a pound.

A pound of...?

 

[pinball1970]

I bought a very nice. albeit small, professionally engraved and printed likeness of Edinburgh Castle. Cost me a pound, Exactly a pound.

And in what century did this transaction take place?

 

[pinball1970]

I bought a very nice. albeit small, professionally engraved and printed likeness of Edinburgh Castle. Cost me a pound, Exactly a pound.

The square with all the statues and the long street leading up to it is impressive too.

 

[Vanadium 50]

<sigh>

I guess I have to explain.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's 1 pound notes have Edinburgh Castle on the reverse. They are not so common, and spending them in England raises some eyebrows, but they are around.

 

[pinball1970]

<sigh>

I guess I have to explain.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's 1 pound notes have Edinburgh Castle on the reverse. They are not so common, and spending them in England raises some eyebrows, but they are around.

Ah yes got it now. I am not familiar with that coinage. Scottish currency in England is simply not cricket, not illegal but extremely frowned upon.
I am sure you get that with Canadians in NY trying to pay for stuff in pelts/ice and stuff.

Did you get to the Edinburgh festival? Or Tattoo? (Not the drunken sailor art thing the other one)

 

[DennisN]

The square with all the statues and the long street leading up to it is impressive too.

Yes! I've got a photo of it, I think. I'll be back.

 

[DennisN]

Did you get to the Edinburgh festival? Or Tattoo?

It was a question to @Vanadium 50 , but I've got a nice little story about that.

When we did our road trip in the UK our last stop was Edinburgh.
I had been to Edinburgh before, and I loved the city so I wanted to show my friend it.
We visited the castle and walked around in the city in the day, and then we had dinner.

In the evening we took another walk in the city, and were surprised there was a big parade coming our way.
So we stopped and looked at the parade as it was passing by.
There were many, many different sets of people in the parade playing various instruments.

And finally, last in the parade, came a large group in traditional Scottish clothes, playing bagpipes and drums while marching. It was amazing, and the sound was very loud because we were only a couple of meters away from them.

I remember I got so excited by it that I got goosebumps .

We had no idea that we luckily ended our UK trip in Edinburgh on the last day of the Edinburgh festival.

 

[DaveC426913]

I am sure you get that with Canadians in NY trying to pay for stuff in pelts/ice and stuff.

I get so sick of foreigners making fun of our currency. We have real paper money here!

 

[DaveC426913]

I bought a very nice. albeit small, professionally engraved and printed likeness of Edinburgh Castle. Cost me a pound, Exactly a pound.

In the same spirit. My wife, who grew up in a touristy Canadian border town, liked to say she made her fortune in the mail order business, selling Engraved Silver Portrait of the Queen - only $20. Bonus: a portrait of the Schooner Bluenose in silver on the reverse.

Spoiler: Silver Plaque of the Queen and Bluenose

 

[DennisN]

The square with all the statues and the long street leading up to it is impressive too.

I suppose you mean Castlehill (the street) and Castlehill (Esplanade) (here on Google Maps)?

One can get a feeling of how it is by clicking here (Google Maps 3D) and clicking straight ahead to go up along Castlehill and then out on the esplanade, and afterwards comes Edinburgh Castle.

I reproduced some more photos today, but I did not have any photo of Castlehill (road/esplanade) itself. But I have some photos from Edinburgh Castle itself, and views of Edinburgh from Castlehill (I think)...
Edinburgh (post 1/2)

The Edinburgh Castle Gate with two bronze statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce:

The text on the gatehouse is "Nemo me impune lacessit" and Wikipedia says it means "no one assaults me with impunity" and it is the motto of the Kingdom of Scotland.

The gatehouse from the inside (I think):

And here are three photos which must be from inside Edinburgh Castle:

And these two photos are from the interiors of one the castle buildings, I think:

The text above the fireplace is "Iacobvs Primvs Britannie Franciae et Hyberniae Rex" and Google Translate says it means "James, the first king of Britain, France and Ireland".

Another fireplace:

And last in this post, two photos which show how high the castle is located above the surrounding parts of Edinburgh:

 

[DennisN]

Edinburgh (post 2/2)

Edinburgh skyline with Edinburgh Castle to the right:

Houses in Edinburgh (I guess the photo was taken from the Castlehill esplanade):

Calton Hill, which apparently is the headquarters of the Scottish Government:

Another part of the Edinburgh skyline:

 

[Astranut]

British Isles - a piece of visual history (2/2)Edinburgh Castle

The old Edinburgh Castle (11th century) is located in the center of Edinburgh on a volcanic rock called Castle Rock.

View attachment 328790
As can be seen here it is a very strategically well placed castle.View attachment 328791
Bagpipers in Edinburgh, provided more for context than historical interest .Next up we've got Orkney, a small archipelago located off the north coast of Scotland. There are numerous interesting historical sites here, and here are two of them...Ring of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar is a neolithic stone circle (ca 2500 - 2000 BCE) which got World Heritage status in 1999 along with some other sites on Orkney.

View attachment 328794And last, but most certainly not the least, we've got the small but amazing Skara Brae...Skara Brae (ca 3180 BCE)

Skara Brae is a neolithic settlement which was occupied between ca 3180 BCE and 2500 BCE. So this "apartment block" is more than 5000 years old.

Let that sink in... : it is more than five thousand years old.

It is older than the pyramids of Giza, which were built 500 years later. It is also older than Stonehenge. Rome, which is a very famous historical city and the first capital of the Roman Empire, was founded ca 2000 years after people were living at Skara Brae.

And I remember our visit very well. It felt very special because it was the oldest place built by human hands I've ever visited, and it still is. We also visited the site very early in the morning, and we were completely alone there.

View attachment 328795
An overview shot of Skara Brae; the area of the settlement is fairly small, ca one or two tennis courts, I'd say. The person at the edge of the settlement is me.View attachment 328796
A plan of Skara Brae at the site.View attachment 328797
The dwellings in more detail. The rectangular construction on the ground in the lower right is a hearth.View attachment 328798
Another hearth can be seen in this photo.There are many small compartments and "channels" in the settlement:

View attachment 328800
I think the construction to the right was a bed, I guess.Home furnishings, neolithic style:

View attachment 328801
It looks like the construction to the left was a cupboard, maybe?And last, a compartment (?) detail in the settlement:

View attachment 328802
Maybe this was a joint compartment (?) or some sort of window, I don't know.Well, that's it from historical Britain. I hope you enjoyed it!

Skara Brae is a fascinating historical place on my bucket list. Visited Scotland quite a bit but not the Isles.

 

[DennisN]

Visited Scotland quite a bit but not the Isles.

If you have some photos it would be fun to see them!

 

[Astranut]

If you have some photos it would be fun to see them!

Thank you! It was quite a while since I was in Scotland . Unfortunately all my images are prints taken on film.

 

[DennisN]

Unfortunately all my images are prints taken on film.

Ah, I understand. I think all photos I posted above was also taken on film (they were taken around 2000).
I have only the photos themselves and I took photos of them with my digital camera.

I think I bought my first digital camera in 2004, an early compact camera. A small Canon, I think.