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“If you could even guess the nature of this castle’s secret,” said Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore, “you would get down on your knees and thank God it was not yours.” That awful secret was once the talk of Europe. From perhaps the 1840s until 1905, the Earl’s ancestral seat at Glamis Castle, in the Scottish lowlands, was home to a “mystery of mysteries”—an enigma that involved a hidden room, a secret passage, solemn initiations, scandal, and shadowy figures glimpsed by night on castle battlements. The conundrum engaged two generations of high society until, soon after 1900, the secret...

Pupils at St Mary’s RC Primary School were treated to a special performance from The Highlanders army pipe band on Thursday before many received lessons in how to play the instruments. Drum Major (Sergeant) Danny Brown introduced four pipers and three drummers from The 4th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland to the children to help promote the music and instruments to the next generation. Drum Major Brown works with the community engagement project run by the army in Scotland called The Pipers Trail. The army works with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, National Piping Centre and local...

William Wallace of Scotland's name (center) written in Latin: Edinburgh, Scotland, Jan 13, 2012 / 03:52 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A 14th-century letter asking Pope Boniface VIII to look favorably upon the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace during his visit to Rome has been returned to Scotland. “This document is an enigma,” said George MacKenzie, head of National Records of Scotland at the unveiling ceremony in Edinburgh on Jan. 12. “It’s a letter from the French king to his officials at the Vatican mentioning Wallace, but we don't know what his business was with the Pope. What we do know is...

A Scottish rugby player has been warned about his "completely inappropriate" language after calling US President Barack Obama a "whore" on Twitter. When praising Ron Paul, a candidate to be the Republican Party's nominee for the 2012 presidential election, Rory Lamont said on January 4: "He doesn't work for Wall Street like that whore Obama." As well as Obama, the 29-year-old Lamont has taken to the social networking site to made derogatory remarks about a number of politicians including British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The injury-plagued wing, who in 26 Tests for Scotland has scored...

The British government set out conditions on Tuesday under which Scotland would be allowed to hold a referendum on breaking away from the rest of Britain, a move which it strongly opposes. Any referendum must be limited to a straightforward yes-or-no question on independence, excluding the option of asking whether Scotland should be given greater devolved powers, and should be held as soon as possible, the British government said. The pro-independence Scottish National Party, which heads a devolved government in Edinburgh, has said it plans to hold a referendum by 2016 on ending the 300-year union with England.

NICK Clegg last night branded those who believed in Scottish independence as “extremists”, as he claimed the Liberal Democrats had won the “centre ground” of the constitutional debate by calling for more Holyrood powers short of separation. The Deputy Prime Minister underlined his commitment to handing more powers to the Scottish Parliament as he declared that he was a “devolutionist” rather than a Unionist. On a visit north of the Border, Mr Clegg described independence as “the extreme” – a choice of words that led to the SNP suggesting that the Lib Dem leader should “rethink” his language. In an...

The site, known as the Ness of Brodgar, was investigated by BBC2 documentary A History of Ancient Britain, with presenter Neil Oliver describing it as 'the discovery of a lifetime'. So far the remains of 14 Stone Age buildings have been excavated, but thermal geophysics technology has revealed that there are 100 altogether, forming a kind of temple precinct. Until now Stonehenge was considered to have been the centre of Neolithic culture, but that title may now go to the Orkney site, which contains Britain's earliest known wall paintings. Oliver said: 'The excavation of a vast network of buildings on...

VISITORS from around the world were among thousands of people who carried torches up Calton Hill in Edinburgh yesterday evening as the city’s Hogmanay festival officially began. Organisers say people from more than 50 countries, including Botswana, New Zealand and Taiwan, are expected to join the festivities which include the world-famous street party on New Year’s Eve. Meanwhile, communities from Shetland to the Scottish Borders are gearing up for their own celebrations which will see thousands of people defy the winter chill to party at open air events across the country. As well as street parties and firework displays in...

The longest-serving cooper in Scotland is to lay down his tools for the last time on Hogmanay. Don Ramsay started working in the Glenfiddich distillery on Christmas Day 1961, when he was 15. His employers said he has created more than 200,000 casks during his 50-year career. The distillery honoured him in 2004 by releasing a limited bottling of Glenfiddich 1991 Vintage Reserve which carried his name.

A rare species of fish described as “faceless and brainless” was among the unusual finds made by marine scientists off Britain’s coast, according to a Scottish government report published on Thursday. The prehistoric amphioxus species, which grows to about two inches long and has no fins, was recorded off Orkney, part of the Northern Isles that lie off the far northern coast of mainland Scotland. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The elusive fish is regarded as a modern representative of the first animals that evolved a backbone, the Scottish government said. With a nerve cord down its back, it has no specific brain or...

EVERY August for the last 16 years, Melrose and its annual pipe band championships have proved a magnet for attracting some of the country’s best pipers and drummers to compete for the prestigious silverware. From a small initial event, the championships now boast fierce competition among top bands and thousands of pounds are pumped into the local economy. But this year’s contest could be in jeopardy following the decision of founding chairman, Ian Graham, and the event’s entire committee to step down and call it a day. Just two members of the committee are not members of Mr Graham’s family...

Cardinal O’Brien renews call for support of campaign defending marriage Cardinal Keith O’Brien has urged renewed support of the Church’s campaign against same-sex ‘marriage,’ which he said is tapping into strong and deeply held feelings amongst many Scots. “While tens of thousands of Defend Marriage cards have already been completed and returned many more remain available in parishes,” the cardinal told the SCO this week. “If you have not yet filled out a postcard, calling on the Scottish Government to preserve, protect and defend marriage, I urge you to do so now. Several weeks remain in which our Parliamentary Office...

The Oban community fireworks display in Western Scotland lasted one minute instead of 30 minutes. The audience who came to see the Oban Community Fireworks Display got a surprise this year. A technical hitch saw all of the fireworks released simultaneously, unleashing a cacophony of noise. Footage of the display shows a deafening, wild and uncoordinated display that lasts for just over a minute. After the extremely short display, Councillor Roddie McCuish, one of the organisers of the event, apologised to the crowd of hundreds...

Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson has failed in his bid to be re-elected to the board of Dundee's Citizens Advice Bureau. Members withdrew their support from Mr Wilson over concerns about his outspoken criticism of gay marriage. The 73-year-old is chairman of Dundee-based Christian faith group Solas, which is calling for a referendum on same-sex marriage. A Scottish government consultation on the issue was launched this month. In a statement, the director of Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau, Mary Kinninmonth said: "It's sad that the tremendous achievements and work of Dundee CAB has been overshadowed by an issue which called into...

The preliminary remote sensing results of the loch bed around the Ring of Brodgar (visible at the top of the picture, centre). The large, circular 'anomaly' is boxed in white. (Images: The Rising Tide project)

Archaeologists revealed today that they have discovered the first evidence in the UK of stonework painted with a pattern, suggesting Neolithic people enjoyed decorating. It comes a week after the researchers, working at the Brodgar peninsula on Orkney, found plain painted stones thought to be around 5,000 years old at the spot. The site... is between the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. The latest discovery, made late yesterday afternoon, is a stone with a zigzag chevron pattern in red pigment... Nick Card, of the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (Orca), said... "There has been evidence at some...

Neolithic village found in Orkney sheds new light on Stone Age life August 14, 2007 David Lister The remains of a Neolithic settlement discovered in Orkney were hailed yesterday as potentially as important as the Skara Brae village on the islands. The 2.5 hectare site is believed to date back nearly 5,000 years and to include a complex system of temples and dwellings spread over two fields. The find, at Ness of Brodgar, between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, will add to the area’s reputation as home to some of the most remarkable archaeological monuments in...

[T]he 4,000-year-old standing stones of the Ring of Brogar -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- are startling. Thirty-six of the original 60 stones remain, in a perfect circle, each up to 13 feet tall, surrounded by a deep ditch cut into the rock. At dawn and dusk, the stones stand dark and imposing against the light reflecting off the Loch of Stenness below. Farther along is the biggest tourist attraction on Orkney, the village of Skara Brae, protected under the sand for nearly 5,000 years until it was revealed by a huge storm in 1850. Each of the stone...

A £1bn flagship government project for fighting climate change – the construction of a prototype carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at Longannet in Scotland – is on the verge of collapse, it emerged on Thursday. Talks between the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) and Scottish Power have run into deep trouble and the electricity supplier is expected to pull the plug on the government-promoted scheme, which hoped to bury carbon emissions from the coal power station in the North Sea.

"MY Children" ARE " My Obedient Ones"! Do you see my children? Why Enoch was taken up to "BE" with Me ? It was not by his works but through his "TRUE" and "Fatihful" obedience to BE one with Me for as My Word "BE HOLY" "TRULY" this is Christ like to be a Michael( "AS GOD" ) for I AM "HOLY" for this IS My NAME ! Jude 1 1JUDE, A servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and brother of James, [writes this letter] to those who are called (chosen), dearly loved by God the Father and separated (set...

A Pictish symbol stone built into the wall of a Highland farm building has been recorded by archaeologists.The markings show a beast, crescent, comb and mirror. Archaeologist Cait McCullagh said it was a mystery how it had taken until this year for the stone to be officially recorded. She said it also suggested that more Pictish stones have still to be documented on the Black Isle where the beast was recorded. Ms McCullagh, the co-founder and director of Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (Arch), said the symbol stones probably dated from the 5th to 7th centuries AD. She said...

The bishops of Scotland have pledged their “strenuous opposition” as the Scottish government considers a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. Urging the government not to heed “a vociferous lobby group,” the bishops said on September 7 that “no government can rewrite human nature; the family and marriage existed before the State and are built on the union between a man and woman. Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be strenuously opposed.” Cardinal Keith O’Brien repeated the words of the statement in a homily to Scottish politicians. In a...

'Events are being held across Scotland to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Faith leaders and politicians are to take part in a peace walk in Edinburgh. In Glasgow, an inter-faith service of remembrance will be held at Cathcart Old Parish Church, and the first minister will attend a service at St Nicholas Kirk in Aberdeen. Alex Salmond has also written to the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, expressing Scotland's condolences. He said: "Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who lost their lives on that darkest of days. "At this time...

The leader of Scotland's Catholic community has warned that moves by MSPs to legalise gay marriage will be "strenuously opposed" by the Church. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, in a strongly worded homily delivered at a mass for politicians in Edinburgh last night, claimed that allowing gay people to wed through a civil or religious ceremonies would be a "direct attack" on the institution of marriage. However, the intervention sparked criticism from MSPs, with the openly gay leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, attacking the Cardinal's remarks as "absurd" and as an attempt to "suppress" the freedom of gays, lesbians and...

The majestic standing stones of Callanish CAROLINE WICKHAM-JONES STONE circles are evocative places and the stones at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis must be one of the most haunting. Not only is there the imposing physical presence of the stones and their spectacular landscape setting, there is also the atmosphere of mystery. Callanish (or Calanais) is one of the larger stone settings of Britain. The stones tower to a height of nearly four metres and the main monument covers an area of some 5,000 square metres. The circle itself is relatively modest and comprises 13 upright stones with a...

A historic site's true purpose may have been revealed -- as an Iron Age boozer. Experts believe that 4600 years ago, thirsty natives may have been enjoying a pie and pint at Jarlshof in Shetland. ... And a dozen or so quernstones -- for grinding barley -- indicate it may have served as both a drinking den and a bakery. ... It contains remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century. ... The building has a house next door which has a large souterrain -- which was the equivalent of a Iron Age refrigerator used for storing smoked...

Dr. Denis MacEoin addresses The Committee of the Edinburgh University Student Association. TO: The Committee Edinburgh University Student Association. May I be permitted to say a few words to members of the EUSA? I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic and Islamic History in Buccleuch Place under William Montgomery Watt and Laurence Elwell Sutton, two of Britain's great Middle East experts in their day. I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge and to teach Arabic and Islamic Studies at Newcastle University. Naturally, I am the author of several books and hundreds of articles...

EDINBURGH, Scotland—To millions of people around the world, he's the loyal dog who kept a lonely vigil at his master's graveside. Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier, supposedly spent 14 years pining by the grave of his owner, a local known as Auld Jock who died in 1858. The tale of devotion has beguiled generations of visitors to Scotland's capital and inspired dozens of children's books and a 1961 Disney film, "Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog." Greyfriars Bobby .But to Swedish historian Jan Bondeson, the 150-year-old legend of the dog that stuck it out through snow, hail and...

A hoard of gold Iron Age torcs found near Stirling is among the highlights of the sixth annual Scottish Treasure Trove report.The torcs - which earned the finder a reward of £462,000 - were found in 2009 but reported to the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer last year. Other "outstanding" finds were a gold button unearthed in Perth and Kinross and a Papal Bulla found in Fife. Discoveries were also made in East Lothian and the Scottish Borders. The report covers the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 and details finds dealt with by the remembrancer and...

Nestled in historic Edinburgh is a new venue, a towering amphitheater rising up on the Castle Esplanade, that has caught the public’s imagination. Constructed in Aberdeen, this 820-ton steel structure sits crab-like in front of the drawbridge of Scotland’s most recognizable fortresses, Edinburgh Castle, a reminder of the country’s distinguished engineering tradition. Providing more than 8,000 seats, the temporary structure is home to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, now enjoying its 61st year. Over the course of August, around 217,000 spectators will attend the evening performances that first began as a production centered around traditional pipes and drums and Highland...

A Newsnight survey found that a clear 61 per cent of English voters think they should have their own parliament and that this proposition was supported by a majority of Scottish voters. Another poll revealed that a greater proportion of English voters wanted independence for England than did Scottish voters for Scotland. The English question is the great giant in British politics that is now beginning to awake from slumber induced by the first devolution of power to Scotland. "English votes for English issues" is fed by a number of specific grievances that increasingly grate with English taxpayers. • Frail...

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Scots-and-the-American-Civil.6750042.jp IN May, 1864 a young Glaswegian by the name of Bennet Graham Burley stared at the dark, dirty water rising up through a grille and flooding over the floor of his cell and considered his alternatives, neither of which were good. He could remain in this dank, filthy cell in the Union prison on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware

The most northerly battle fought by imperial Rome could be left out of an inventory of Scottish battlefields due to uncertainty over the site.Mons Graupius in AD 83 or 84 saw the 9th Hispana, its cohorts and Roman cavalry defeat 30,000 Caledonians. Locations suggested in the past include Dunning in Perthshire, Carpow in Fife, Bennachie in Aberdeenshire and Culloden in the Highlands. Historic Scotland said an accurate site was needed for inclusion on its list. > In his book, Dando-Collins connects Mons Graupius with the disappearance of the 9th after it was later posted to Carlisle. He said Caledonians had...

Archaeologists searching for King Arthur's round table have found a "circular feature" beneath the historic King's Knot in Stirling. The King's Knot, a geometrical earthwork in the former royal gardens below Stirling Castle, has been shrouded in mystery for hundreds of years. Though the Knot as it appears today dates from the 1620s, its flat-topped central mound is thought to be much older. Writers going back more than six centuries have linked the landmark to the legend of King Arthur. Archaeologists from Glasgow University, working with the Stirling Local History Society and Stirling Field and Archaeological Society, conducted the first...

Gran killer turns Muslim to dodge work  A BRUTE who murdered a gran has converted to Islam behind bars - so he can avoid work. Evil David Millar - who stabbed frail 82-year-old Lucy Marshall to death - will skip his duties in the laundry because of his new faith. He will be excused from work on Fridays so he can attend prayers. And he's told pals he'll not have to do chores during the holy month of Ramadan. The 28-year-old will also receive special halal meals such as curries at Dumfries prison. Murdered ... Lucy One jail source said:...

An archaeologist has uncovered the remains of an ancient burial cist and pottery at the site of a new £1.3m health centre on Skye. No human remains have been found, but further excavations and chemical tests on material recovered will delay the building project for about two weeks. Archaeologist Steven Birch also found a cairn and an underground structure known as a souterrain. NHS Highland said it still expected the centre to be completed by March 2012. The finds could date from the Iron Age. Mr Birch, of West Coast Archaeological Services, said: "There is a surprising range of important...

LONDON (CNS) -- The Jesuits have sold the historic St. Cuthbert Gospel -- believed the oldest intact book produced in Europe -- to the British Library for $14.7 million. The British Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell the late 7th-century Anglo-Saxon manuscript to raise funds to restore a historic church and pay for educational work in London and Glasgow, Scotland. The book, a pocket-size Latin translation of the Gospel of St. John, was found inside the coffin of St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, when the saint's grave was opened in 1104. Experts believe the manuscript was placed...

INVERNESS is gearing up to play host to one of the biggest gatherings of the year this Saturday as the Highland Games returns to the Northern Meeting Park. Since combining the city’s Armed Forces Day celebrations last year, the event is now one of the largest staged in Scotland and will commence with a parade through the streets of Inverness which will feature nine pipes and drums bands and hundreds of service personnel both past and present. Included in the ranks for the parade, which has been organised by members of Inverness British Legion, will be sailors from the First...

Throughout the 19th century there have been reports and scholarly discussions of submerged forests and artefacts from now-submerged environments around the coasts and seas of Britain (Coles 1998). Since the publication of Doggerland: a speculative study by Prof. Bryony Coles in 1998, there has been significant progress in the active investigation of submerged prehistoric landscapes around the coasts of the UK. To date much of this progress has been focused around the coasts of England and Wales, partly as a consequence of the geographical distribution of available funding streams i.e. the Marine element of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (MALSF)....

Archaeologists believe the remains of burned oak uncovered at the site of the first Sainsbury's in the Highlands to be evidence of an ancient "rest stop". The supermarket and a filling station are being constructed on the outskirts of Nairn, at a cost of about £20m. Headland Archaeologists investigated the site ahead of building work. They radiocarbon-dated the hearth to the Mesolithic period, which started as the last Ice Age ended about 12,000 years ago. ...the archaeologists said the fire appeared to have been made to provide heat and not cooking, because no food waste was found... "The dating of...

A hoard of twenty one silver denarii has been recovered during the recent excavation of the foundations of a clay floor in a centurion's apartment of the late Antonine period (cAD180-200) at Vindolanda, northeast England. The hoard had been buried, possibly in a purse or some similar organic package which had long since rotted away, in a shallow pit within the foundation material of the floor of the structure in the middle of the room. Dr Andrew Birley, director of excavations at the site explains, "The coins were tightly packed together and several had corroded onto one another, held together...

A PIONEERING new form of keyhole surgery will be used to save the lives of dozens of unborn babies every year, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. The remarkable technique involves a 'fetoscope' about the width of three grains of sugar which is used to internally examine babies while they are still in the womb. The resulting images will allow Scottish doctors to perform surgical and other procedures on fetuses - many of whom would otherwise die - from as little as 24 weeks' gestation. At this point, the fetus would fit in the palm of an adult man's hand and...

RELIGIOUS history has been made with the first ordination of a former Anglican clergyman in Scotland into the Catholic priesthood. Father Len Black, 61 and a grandfather of two, was ordained into the priesthood this weekend, at a ceremony at St Mary's Church in Greenock performed by Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley. He is the latest former Anglican clergyman in the UK, and the first in Scotland, to be ordained into the Roman Catholic Church under the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the body set up earlier this year by Pope Benedict XVI to receive those leaving the...

People born with disabilities who ‘lose the will to live’ would be eligible to end their lives under controversial new legislation proposed for the Scottish Parliament. This is the second attempt by Margo MacDonald MSP to legalise assisted suicide. Her first bill was roundly rejected by the Scottish Parliament. But the Independent MSP now intends to table a new bill which critics have branded “utterly irresponsible”. DangersMrs MacDonald has also suggested that people suffering from chronic conditions, but who do not have a terminal illness, should be able to get medical help to end their lives. And she suggested that...

CENTURIES of proud military tradition were laid to rest yesterday in a ceremony that saw the Queen present The Royal Regiment of Scotland with its first stand of colours, the totemic flags that were once a rallying point in battle. The new colours will take the place of those that were carried for hundreds of years by the old Scottish regiments that were controversially amalgamated in 2006 to form Scotland's single infantry unit. The presentation of the new colours consigned the individual colours once carried by The Black Watch, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, The King's...

Thousands of human bones have been found inside a Stone Age tomb on a northern Scottish island, archaeologists say. The 5,000-year-old burial site, on South Ronaldsay (map) in the Orkney Islands, was accidentally uncovered after a homeowner had leveled a mound in his yard to improve his ocean view. ~~~snip~~~ The underground grave consists of a 4- by 0.75-meter (13- by 2.5-foot) central chamber surrounded by four smaller cells hewn from sandstone bedrock. Capping the central chamber are large water-worn slabs supported by stone walls and pillars. At least a thousand skeleton parts belonging to a mix of genders and...

VETERANS of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers will celebrate the anniversary of their former regiment’s most famous battle honour, when they commemorate the Battle of Minden, at the Barracks in Berwick-upon-Tweed on Saturday, July 30, writes Mark Entwistle. This year the veterans will be joined by regular soldiers from The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1SCOTS), who, following this parade, will commence a period of intensive training for yet another operational tour in Afghanistan. The organisers hope around 500 soldiers and veterans will be on parade and joined by friends and families from around...

The Scottish National Party, whose avowed goal is securing Scottish independence, surprised perhaps even itself then by winning a resounding majority in the Scottish Parliament and taking direct control of the Scottish government for the first time (it had been leading a fragile coalition government since 2007).

The family of a Scots soldier sent home from World War I after three of his brothers were killed have been traced after a worldwide appeal. The story, similar to the plot of Tom Hanks' film Saving Private Ryan, was uncovered by Scottish archives chiefs, who were desperate to find out what became of Frank Cowie. Now they have discovered that after his reprieve, he became a dad and successful farmer. The amazing story emerged last year after confidential military documents were released by National Records of Scotland. Yesterday, it emerged that his youngest daughter, Judy Barrett, had been in...

A HOMEOWNER has been ordered to leave the house where he was caring for his 92-year-old mother to allow his estranged wife to move back in. Angus and Barbara Ann Fraser are fighting a legal battle over the home in the Lochaber village of Caol. Mrs Fraser, 61, left the house the couple shared with her mother-in-law Elizabeth nine weeks ago when the pair separated, but then began a legaADVERTISEMENT l move at Fort William Sheriff Court to return to live there. Sheriff Douglas Small has granted an interim exclusion order against Mr Fraser, 54, banning him from the house...