12 pits were found

Archaeologists excavating Warren Field, an area next to Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire from 2004-06 uncovered 12 pits which appear to mimic the phases of the moon and track lunar months.  Unusual crop marks had been spotted from the air by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) which led to the dig being started.

Dave Cowley, aerial survey projects manager at RCAHMS, said: “We have been taking photographs of the Scottish landscape for nearly 40 years, recording thousands of archaeological sites that would never have been detected from the ground…Warren Field stands out as something special, however. It is remarkable to think that our aerial survey may have helped to find the place where time itself was invented.”

Archaeologists believe now they have discovered the world’s oldest lunar “calendar” in the world.

A team led by the University of Birmingham suggests the ancient monument was created by hunter-gatherers about 10,000 years ago.

Vince Gaffney, Professor of Landscape Archaeology at Birmingham, led the analysis project.

He said: “The evidence suggests that hunter-gatherer societies in Scotland had both the need and sophistication to track time across the years, to correct for seasonal drift of the lunar year and that this occurred nearly 5,000 years before the first formal calendars known in the Near East …In doing so, this illustrates one important step towards the formal construction of time and therefore history itself.”

An artist’s impression of warren field about 10000 years ago showing burning material in one of the pits.

The experts who analysed the pits said they may have contained a wooden post.

The pits were placed to copy the positions of the moon – identifying the time of the year.

The Mesolithic “calendar” is thousands of years older than previous known formal time-measuring monuments created in Mesopotamia.

The pit alignment also aligns on the Midwinter sunrise to provided the hunter-gatherers with an annual “astronomic correction” in order to better follow the passage of time and changing seasons.

The universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Bradford were also involved.
Dr Richard Bates, of the University of St Andrews, said the discovery provided “exciting new evidence” of the early Mesolithic Scotland.
He added: “This is the earliest example of such a structure and there is no known comparable site in Britain or Europe for several thousands of years after the monument at Warren Field was constructed.”

Crathes Castle

Crathes Castle and its estate is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).
From 2004 to 2006, trust staff and Murray Archaeological Services excavated the site.
NTS archaeologist Dr Shannon Fraser said: “This is a remarkable monument, which is so far unique in Britain.
“Our excavations revealed a fascinating glimpse into the cultural lives of people some 10,000 years ago – and now this latest discovery further enriches our understanding of their relationship with time and the heavens.”

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The Dining Room at Candacraig

With a price tag of almost £3 million pounds, Scottish comedian Billy Connolly’s Highland baronial home in Aberdeenshire has been listed on the market. The 12-bedroom property in Strathdon is set in 14 acres of grounds, and includes a walled garden and a croquet lawn. Candacraig was originally home to the Anderson family until it was sold in 1866 to Sir Charles Forbes of Newe.

Candacraig House was built in 1579, however the original is quite different from the mansion that stands today. A painting dated from 1760 shows a simple L-shaped building which was incorporated into later constructions. Most of the present house was built in 1835 by noted Aberdeen architect John Smith, who also worked on Balmoral Castle. Candacraig underwent further reconstruction in 1956, following a destructive fire.

Legend has it that the first Laird of Candacraig, Patrick Anderson, acquired the property after discovering silver under a boulder in Glen Carvie in the 1500′s. After changing hands several times after 1866, the house was purchased by Gordon and Anita Roddick, founders of the Bodyshop. They undertook a comprehensive program of improvement before selling it to Billy Connolly and Pamela Stephenson in 1998. Candacraig attracted much media attention as Hollywood celebrities became regular guests including Ewan MacGregor and Robin Williams.

The sales brochure describes the house as “a traditional Scots baronial mansion house built of harled stone under a slate roof with pepper pot turrets and steep pitched roofs”. The brochure continues: “The house has fine reception rooms, including a magnificent timber-panelled drawing room with a highly decorative plaster ceiling and a panelled library beyond. These two rooms and the dining room are to the front of the house and are reached off a long picture gallery. To the rear of the house are a large family kitchen and an office/utility room. A passageway with historic carved timber panelling leads to a billiard room.

Real Estate agent and Clan Chief Jamie Macnab, of Savills, said: “It is absolutely gorgeous, in the most stunning position and money has been lavished on it over the years.” Last year, Connolly started renting out the property as he was spending less and less time there. For £3,950, groups of up to 11 people could hire the house for one night and have a three-course dinner cooked by the resident chef. Connolly is said to be considering splitting his time between his apartment in New York and Brighton.

There are three castles nearby; the ruin of Kildrummy, besieged in 1306 by the army of Edward I; Glenbuchat, stronghold of “Old Glenbucket”, a renowned Jacobite who led a regiment for Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1745 rebellion; and Corgarff, a restored 16th century tower house. Corgarff has an impressive history, acting as the scene of a notorious massacre, a hideout for bandits, and a munitions store for supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. Following the rising the it was used as an outpost for soldiers sent to suppress the illegal distilling of whisky.

You can view the impressive real estate brochure by clicking here.

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Nigel Ivan Forbes, 22nd Lord Forbes, KBE, JP, DL (19 February 1918 – 5 March 2013)

Nigel Ivan Forbes, 22nd Lord of Forbes and Chief of Clan Forbes, has died aged 95. A distinguished parliamentarian and businessman, Forbes was premier baron of Scotland and possibly the last surviving member of Scotland’s Representative Peers. Forbes had a deep love of the Aberdeenshire countryside, and a lifelong interest in photography which led to two portraits of himself forming part of the photographic collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Forbes served in the Second World War in the Grenadier Guards, however a mortar shattered his leg during the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940. After recovering from his injuries he served as an adjutant, eventually becoming military assistant to the High Commissioner in Palestine and retiring from the army with the rank of Major. Upon the death of his father 1953, Forbes retired from military life to concentrate on his estates and local political life in Aberdeenshire. In 1955 he was elected to the House of Lords, and three years later was summoned by Harold Macmillan’s conservative government and offered the post of Minister of State at the Scottish Office. He spoke about Scottish Education and Home Affairs in the upper house, spending most of his time on the Deer (Scotland) Bill, which imposed stiffer penalties for poaching. Outside of politics Forbes was a Director of Gampian Television during the 60s, and Deputy Chairman of Tennent Caledonian Breweries from 1964-1974.

Born in 1918, Forbes’ impressive political lineage can be traced back to the beginnings of Clan Forbes, when in 1217 Duncan de Forbes obtained a charter from Alexander III, confirming his claim. In 1444 George I made Alexander Forbes (the chief at the time) Lord, and to this day the Lordship remains Scotland’s premier. The Forbes Clan also have a history of conflict with their nearest neighbours, Clan Gordon. It took two Acts of Parliament and a move by King James VI to force the factions to lay down their arms. During the Jacobite Risings the Clan Forbes and their chief supported the British government. The Jacobites laid siege to the chief’s historic seat of Culloden House in both the 1715 and 1745 risings.

Representative peers were introduced in 1707 when England and Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain. Fearing a House of Lords swamped with Scottish peers, the English peers restricted the amount by allowing only 16 Scots peers to be elected to the House. Although Forbes inherited his peerage from his father upon his death in 1953, he did not join the House of Lords until the general election in May 1955. When the peerage restrictions were abolished in 1963, Forbes became a member of the House in his own right.

In his maiden speech in the House of Lords he courageously took on the issue of the necessity for a road bridge over the Firth of Forth. In those days, this was a touchy subject, perceived as a somewhat romantic issue championed by the likes of historical novelist Nigel Tranter and the tiny Scottish National Party. Nevertheless, a completed bridge was opened eight years later.

Upon succeeding his peerage Forbes chose not to inhabit the family seat of Castle Forbes (built in 1815), instead living on the south side of the River Don while managing the 5,000-acre family estate.  In 1972 the castle was converted into a private hotel, and later Forbes’ younger son moved back in to what is now a private guesthouse.

Forbes married the Hon Rosemary Katharine Hamilton-Russell, the eldest daughter of 9th Viscount Boyne, with whom he later had two sons and a daughter. He is succeeded as the 23rd Lord Forbes by his eldest son, the Master of Forbes, Malcolm Nigel Forbes, born in 1946.

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Braemar Castle

Braemar Castle in Aberdeenshire was first built by the 18th Earl of Mar, John Erskine in 1628, using it as a hunting lodge and strong hold against the powerful neighbouring Farquharson family. The castle replaced the nearby Kindrochit Castle, which is said to have been built sometime in the 11th century.

In 1689, John Farquharson, the Black Colonel of Inverey, led an attack on Braemar Castle, leaving it burnt and damaged.

John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar, was a noted Jacobite, particularly at the time of the 1715 Rebellion. Because of his role in the uprising, the castle was confiscated by the Crown. Braemar Castle and its lands were then bought by John Farquharson, 9th Laird of Invercauld, but the castle was left in ruins until 1748 when it was leased to the Government for £14 per annum, serving as a Hanoverian garrison. The garrison was eventually withdrawn, and in 1831 the castle was returned to the Farquharsons.

Braemar Castle was renovated into a family home, which was started by the 12th Laird of Invercauld, who also entertained Queen Victoria when she visited for the Braemar Games, which were held in the grounds of the castle. The castle remained as a family home to the Farquharsons for over 100 years.

The castle is now open to the public, and is visited by people from all over the world. The Farquharsons leased Braemar Castle in 2007 to the Braemar community for 50 years, so it can continue to be open as a visitor attraction, and is ran by the charity Braemar Community Limited. The castle is in need of urgent repairs to the roof and the charity is trying to raise the money.

Doreen Wood, part of the Braemar Castle Team, kindly sent us these photos of the castle.

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Craigievar Castle

After a £500,000 facelift, taking two years to complete, the National Trust for Scotland has announced that Craigievar Castle is to completely reopen to the public in May.

The 17th century castle, which is near Alford in central Aberdeenshire, has had extensive work done to get it back to looking how it originally did back in the 1600s, including a traditional lime-based alternative to concrete-based harling, and the exterior going back to what experts believe was its original shade of pink.

Craigievar Castle was built by William Forbes, a merchant from Aberdeen and brother of the bishop of Aberdeen. Forbes bought the estate in 1610 from the poverty stricken Mortimer family, and had the castle completed by 1626.

Craigievar was handed over to the National Trust for Scotland in 1963 after having been in the Forbes family for over 350 years. The castle was lived in for the most part, and it was even used as a hospital for Belgian soldiers during the First World War.

The project manager for the castle’s renovation, Ian Davidson, commented on the work done to the castle, saying, “It would be fair to say that visitors to the castle will notice a change.”

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