Bronze Age Scotland

During the Bronze Age, cairns and megalithic monuments continued to be constructed in Scotland, though the scale of new structures and the total area under cultivation declined. The Clava cairns and standing stones near Inverness exhibit complex geometries and astronomical alignments, shifting towards smaller, possibly individual tombs, in contrast to the communal Neolithic tombs.

Notable Bronze Age discoveries include mummies dating from 1600 to 1300 BCE found at Cladh Hallan on South Uist. Hill forts, such as Eildon Hill near Melrose in the Scottish Borders, emerged around 1000 BCE, providing fortified housing for several hundred inhabitants. Excavations at Edinburgh Castle have revealed material from the late Bronze Age, approximately 850 BCE. In the first millennium BCE, Scottish society evolved into a chiefdom model. This period saw the consolidation of settlements, leading to the concentration of wealth and the establishment of underground food storage systems.