Picts, Celts & Early Scotland

Scotland was settled after the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago — hunters and gatherers followed the retreating ice. The earliest monumental traces are the Neolithic sites on Orkney (Skara Brae, 3180 BC), which are among the oldest preserved settlements in Europe.

The Picts

The Picts were the original inhabitants of Scotland north of the Forth — a mysterious people known for their elaborate stone symbols (enigmatic signs that have never been fully deciphered). They successfully resisted the Romans: Emperor Hadrian built his wall (Hadrian's Wall, AD 122) not to protect against the Picts, but because he simply could not conquer Scotland.

Union under Kenneth MacAlpin

Around 843, Kenneth MacAlpin united the Picts and the Gaelic Scots (Celtic immigrants from Ireland) into the kingdom of Alba — the precursor of Scotland. From then on, Scotland was considered a realm that had to defend its independence against Vikings, Angles, and later the English.