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Scottish Archaeology Month Web Site
Scottish Archaeology Month is an annual initiative co-ordinated by the Council for Scottish Archaeology that celebrates Scotland's rich archaeological heritage. Throughout September a diverse range of FREE events educate, entertain and encourage appreciation and active involvement in Scotland's historic environment. The initiative also serves as a focus for local and national archaeology.  You can search for events in all parts of Scotland for the month of September

Doors Open Days

Caithness Day Doors Open
Sat 13 Sept 12.00-16.00  
Watten WastewaterTreatment Plant   OS Grid Ref ND14025972   Halkirk   KW12 6XF   
Contact Colleen Knight, Scottish Water 01463-246466

Sat 13 Sept 10.00-18.00    
Dunbeath Heritage Centre  
The Old School    Dunbeath   KW6 6ED
The spirit of Neil Gunn lives on inside Dunbeath Heritage Centre. Images and quotations from his books adorn the walls, windows and floor; his words seem to flow through the air, just as the river of his boyhood flows through the strath below. Here the visitor can share Neil Gunn's sense of wonder at a buzzard circling above - "From high overhead the river, in its strath, must look like a mighty serpent, the tip of its tail behind the mountain, its open mouth to the sea." Contact: Meg Sinclair (01593 731233)

Sat 13 Sept 10.00-16.00  
Clan Sinclair Study Centre
 Noss Head Lighthouse  Wick   KW1 4QT  
The Clan Sinclair Study Centre is based at Noss Head Lighthouse Keepers' Cottages, which with their neo-Egyptian detail were built with the lighthouse in 1849 to designs by Alan Stevenson. The complex encompasses 30 acres, enclosed by high walls. An inner wall surrounds a garden which originally provided vegetables for the keepers. Archivist available. Guided tour. Contact: Ian and Ruby Sinclair (01955) 606700

Sat 13 Sept 10.00-16.00    
Noss Head Lighthouse   Noss Head
Wick   KW1 4QT
By engineer Alan Stevenson and completed in 1849 by Robert Arnot, Inverness. Style of lantern, with diagonal instead of vertical framing, was first used by Stevenson at Noss Head and adopted as the standard pattern for the service. The original lamp is now in the museum in Wick. Contact: Meg Sinclair (01593 731233)

13 - 28 September
Lighthouse Exhibition
Dunbeath Heritage Centre
A small exhibition comprising a history of the Northern Lighthouse Board with memorabelia on display

European Heritage Days

Links
Restoration  - BBC

Archaeology Events In Caithness
Sunday 7th at 1.30pm
Latheronwheel Strath stones - Join us on a guided walk through Latheronwheel Strath to visit the stone circle, figure out the mysteries of where the shadows fall, are there any 'outmarkers'? Is it of winter or summer solstice significance? Why is it so low in the valley and are there any other features in the area? Sturdy shoes and waterproofs recommended. Meet Latheronwheel Hotel. Run by Dunbeath Preservation Trust.

Sunday 14th at 2pm
Vikings and Stinking Fish - Join us on a guided walk along the coast looking at ancient middens and settlements. Sturdy shoes and waterproofs recommended. Meet John O'Groats Tourist Info Centre. Run by CAT.

Sunday 21st at 2pm
Tall Tails and Tall Stories - a guided tour round Castle Sinclair Girnigoe looking at new discoveries and putting a new slant on a very singular monument. Sturdy shoes and waterproofs recommended. Meet Noss Head car park. Run by CAT

Sunday 28th at 2pm
Still Life with Monuments - walk through an ancient landscape with guides. Sturdy shoes and waterproofs recommended. Meet Cairn O Get car park, off the A99, south of Wick. Run by CAT
Opposite Whaligoe Steps.

Broachies Steading Excavation
2 weeks Mon 8th to Fri 19th Sept, 9am-5pm -
Broachie's Steading Excavation - visit an excavation by Headland Archaeology Ltd. in progress. See how they investigate the development of cruck-frame buildings, the use of whalebone crucks and a monkeys grave. Meet Broachie's Steading, behind Dunnet Church, park in Northern Sands Hotel car park and go through the church-yard.