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Gordon J. Barclay.
Farmers, Temples and Tombs: Scotland in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
Canongate Books. 1998

This book describes the revolutionary period in early Scottish history when hunter-gatherers gave way to the first farmers and the beginnings of settled society in Scotland. For too long the story of this exciting period has been told using the same stone-built sites, mainly in the north and on Orkney. This new study tells the story using evidence from all over Scotland, from simple settlements as well as the great monuments, tombs and mysterious standing stones that are still such a notable feature of today’s landscape.

Designed thoughout with colourful and detailed illustrations, Farmers, Temples and Tombs outlines in a clear and understandable way the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in Scotland. It contains in-depth features on important Neolithic sites, and emphasises that what are now archaeological sites were once places where normal people lived. Included in the book are specially commissioned illustrations which show how different sites might have looked, as well as a list of Neolithic sites that can be visited across Scotland.

Ian A. G. Shepherd, Gordon J. Barclay.
Scotland in Ancient Europe: the Neolithic and early Bronze Age of Scotland in their European context.
Societies of Antiquaries of Scotland. 2004

This volume represents the publication of a highly successful conference held in 2003 to celebrate the contribution to Neolithic and Early Bronze Age studies of one of archaeology’s finest synthesisers, Professor Stuart Piggott. The title is a reference to his famous work, Ancient Europe from the beginnings of agriculture to Classical Antiquity, itself a publication of his Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’s Rhind Lectures of 1962.

The scope of the volume spans the three crucial millennia, from the beginning of the fourth to the mid second, that saw major impacts on the area we now call Scotland. There was transformation of the landscape through the introduction and development of farming, the creation of many striking monuments and the spread of important ideas and technologies, of which metalworking, particularly in Aberdeenshire, was one of the most significant. The contributions cover major advances in research in the period which demonstrate the interplay of the key factors of climate, culture and resources, where the theme of exchange of information, objects and materials played a vital role.

Individual chapters range from chambered tombs to climate change, from dietary choices to faience beads, from timber enclosures to bronze hoards. Together these present a valuable up-to-the minute overview of Scotland in ancient Europe and a fine tribute to a past-master of the subject.