Get creative by taking part in a competition to explain what the mysterious Neolithic Carved Stone Balls were used for. The competition is free, there are prizes, and the closing date is 19/09/2025 - see imagination-works.uk/competition/ for details and the online entry #pubarch #archaeology

Archaeology, wellbeing, enthusiastic volunteers, the Aberdeenshire countryside and the chance to learn about the Mesolithic - see below for more details of this event being delivered by one of our amazing groups in the region. #pubarch

In case you have missed it, the new #EAC guidelines on #LiDAR in #archaeology have now been published. It was a real joy to be a small part of the team who contributed to this, and a true pan-European collaborative endeavour!

Available at zenodo.org/records/1460...

The sands are shifting once again along the Aberdeenshire coastline, this time exposing a previously unknown WWII coastal defence structure in the sands at Foveran, Newburgh. Not sure if a pillbox or something else. Thanks to the member of the public for taking the time to report it #archaeology

A nice Friday distraction for you - a snapshot from inside the Culsh Souterrain #Aberdeenshire These Iron Age structures, largely sitting underground, are were probably used for storing food and other goods. This example, emptied in 1850AD by the local farmer, is 10.4m long, 1.8m wide and 1.7m high.

Here's a little festive present to you all. A wintry aerial photo of New Kinord, Dinnet #Aberdeenshire showing the snow-clad stone footings of an Iron Age settlement. The remains are a mixture of roundhouses, enclosures, and a souterrain (a form of semi-underground structure, probably for storage).

Looking out from the main entrance way of the Early Medieval hillfort which surrounds the striking granite tor of the Mither Tap, Bennachie in #Aberdeenshire Recent excavations by @northernpicts.bsky.social has started to reveal just how important this Pictish stonghold was at the time. #archaeology

Enjoy a selection of medieval faces from Elgin Cathedral #Moray #Scotland The skill of the stone masons never ceases to impress me, especially as these carvings would have been so high up that most people at the time wouldn’t have fully appreciated the level of detail. #Archaeology

#FindsFriday Known about for years, this early 19thC iron-plate boat, 4.8m long, was finally rescued in 2022, conserved and now displayed in Garioch Heritage Centre, Inverurie #Aberdeenshire Research shows it's an incredibly rare example of an ice-breaker used on the former Inverurie-Aberdeen Canal.

Metal detectorists range from good to bad. My recent extremes include ones illegally digging on a scheduled castle site through to a very responsible one who identified and reported for disposal a WWI No 15 ball grenade (see image below!) found on a beach. Most are doing the right thing thankfully.

#standingstonesunday Old Keig Recumbent Stone Circle in Aberdeenshire. Early Bronze Age in date, this is one of c70 surviving examples of this unique site type from NE Scotland. The big stone on side is the recumbent, the upright stones either side the flankers, then pairs of stones form the rest.

For #FindsFriday a flashback to 10 years ago when a farmer, claiming to have found an “interesting stone” during a phone call, had his daughter send me this pic. A very nice surprise! Early Medieval Pictish carved symbol stone from Dandaleith, Moray, Scotland. Now displayed in Elgin Museum.

Small ideas can lead to real change. It started as an idea for helping contractors in #Aberdeenshire now it’s a new standard across Scotland for delivering public benefit and adding social value in developer-led archaeology. We still need to do more, but it’s a start www.algao.org.uk/index.php/ne...