Richness of archaeological sites

The Outer Hebrides offer a richness of archaeological sites to visit. Most famous are the 5,000-year-old Neolithic standing stones of Calanais, Isle of Lewis, but these stand at the centre of a sacred landscape dotted with other lesser-known circles, monoliths and stone settings. Remains of Neolithic chambered tombs can also be found around the islands, the best preserved being Barpa Langais in North Uist.

The Iron Age, more than 2,000 years ago, has left some of the most impressive monuments of the islands. Most notable is Dun Carloway, a nine-metre-high, multi-story drystone broch which was the home and power base of an unknown Celtic chieftain, but other sites such as Loch an Duin in Bayble are well worth visiting.

Christianity & Vikings

A few hundred years later, early Christian monks arrived in the Outer Hebrides from Ireland and Iona, building small chapels and monastic cells in remote locations around the islands, and converting the population to Christianity. Some of these inhabitants lived in roundhouses like the one reconstructed at Bostadh, an unforgettable evocation of life in the islands in the sixth and seventh centuries.

Vikings arrived on these shores from the late 700s, colonising the islands and becoming masters of the Hebrides until the 13^th century. Excavations have revealed evidence of their longhouses at Bornais, in South Uist. However, their main legacy is widespread Norse placenames from Eoropie at the Butt of Lewis to Rodel in South Harris and throughout the islands to the south – as well as the magnificent Lewis chessmen on display in the museum in Stornoway.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages the Hebrides were part of a Gaelic-speaking sea kingdom under the Lordship of the Isles, which saw the building of ancient churches such as St Clements, Rodel, St Columba’s, Aignis, and St Moluag’s, Ness.

The remains of more recent habitations in the form of blackhouses, once so ubiquitous, are rapidly disappearing. However, preserved examples can be appreciated at Arnol Blackhouse Museum and Gearrannan blackhouse village, Lewis.

Our expert guides can bring these historic places to life for you and share the fascinating stories that they hold.