Archaeolink Prehistory Park
THE
STORIES IN THE STONES
Hamish Burns turns
time-traveller with a look at Scotland’s
prehistoric past at Archaeolink, a newly revamped
attraction in Aberdeenshire.
The north east of Scotland is soaked in the
legends of its mystic past, with around 7000
sites of prehistoric interest.
Pictish stone circles, Iron Age hill forts and
the remnants of Roman occupation stand as
reminders of long forgotten episodes in the
region’s evolution.
And nestling amidst the scenic, rolling hills of
Aberdeenshire is a newly revitalised visitor
attraction which uses that archaeological
evidence to tell a story which starts more than
6000 years ago.
Archaeolink invites visitors to "take a walk
through prehistory" by reconstructing the
lives and times of the first inhabitants of the
north east, right through the attempted
colonisation of the country by the Romans and the
Iron Age.
The park, at Oyne village, reopens on April 1
after an extensive revamp. All you need to take
with you is your admission fee and your
imagination.
Centre manager Lynn Ross explained that the
redesign had made it possible visitors to pass
through the different ages in chronological
order.
She said, "The idea is for people to travel
along a path through prehistory. It is now more
easy to start way back in time and to see the
progression of things as they go along."
The journey begins at the
Circle of Time, where visitors can peer into the
standing stones at scenes of life as it was in
the north east 7000 years ago.
Before the dawn of Christianity in north east
Scotland heathens roamed the land. In the
Archaeodrome a film shows how the Picts held
rituals around stone circles, traces of which can
still be found nearby.
The visitor is then plunged into the midst of the
legendary Battle of Mons Graupius, where the
Roman legions of Agricola overcame the native
Scots with their regimented tactics in 83 AD.
In the gallery of Myths and Legends giant images
of stone carvings tell the stories of local
legend, like the kelpies, or monsters, and giants
who were believed to terrorise the land in
Pictish Scotland.
Computer generated images show how the landscape
of Aberdeenshire has changed since the Stone Age
and the Archaeoquest takes you on a tour of the
area’s best preserved prehistoric sites.
Outside amid the beautiful scenery visitors can
follow a trail through a Mesolithic camp, the
dwelling of the earliest hunter gatherers in the
area, an Iron Age farm and hill fort and a Roman
marching camp.
There are traces of numerous marching camps
throughout the north east, which archaeologists
claim is evidence that the Roman legions were
active in military operations during their
occupation around the time of Mons Graupius.
Excavations of the hill fort have shown that
inhabitation stretched well back to the Bronze
Age.
All are populated by actors recreating the ways
of life of inhabitants from each era, dressed in
costumes of the period.
Budding archaeologists can even try their hand at
unearthing relics from the past at the sandpit
dig.
Archaeolink is located just off the A96 between
Inverurie and Huntly, on the road to Insch. It
will be open from April 1 to October 29, seven
days a week from 10am-5pm.
Admission is £3.90 for adults and £2.35 for
children, but a family can get in for £11 and
school visits cost £1.50 per head.
Phone 01464-851500 or visit the
Archaeolink website at www.archaeolink.co.uk for details of
special events.
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