In This Section:

1.2.5 Summary chronology and associated artefacts

The table below summarises a chronology for Scotland base on artefact types. Although, as it will be seen, this chronology does not reveal what appear to be obvious changes for example around 1400BC in the settlement record, the period subdivisions are used to subdivide the Scottish Bronze Age in the overview chapter that follows.

Table 2: Summary chronology and associated artefact types for Scotland (based on Needham et al 2010 Table 1 and Needham 1996 Fig 3 for the Southern British Bronze Age). It is not clear whether any iron objects can confidently be dated to this period.

Period Metalwork assemblage
1. Copper 2450-2200 Copper axes etc
Early Beaker pottery
Copper axes, halberds, knives, sheet gold
2. EBA 2200-1950 Migdale> Colleonard
Beaker/Food Vessel/Vase Urn
Bronze flat axes, flat daggers, halberds, bronze and gold ornaments. Knowes of Trotty Barrow 1. Rameldry dagger grave. Finglenny>Migdale>Colleonard hoards.
3. EBA 1950-1750 Bunrannoch
Beaker/Food Vessel/Urns
Raised-edge and decorated axes, Armorico-British daggers. ?Barnhill dagger grave. Bunrannoch hoard.
4. EBA 1750-1550 Gavel Moss
Collared/Cordoned Urns
Long-flanged axes, Arreton daggers, tanged spearheads. Gavel Moss hoard.
5. MBA 1550-1150 Caverton>Glentrool>Mugdrum
Bucket Urn
Short-flanged axes, few palstaves, Group I-III dirks and rapiers, few imported swords, eg Mugdrum, looped spearheads. Glentrool hoard.
6. LBA 1150-950 Poldar Moss
Bucket Urn
Palstaves, earliest socketed axes, Group IV dirks and rapiers, looped spearheads, few gold ornaments, cauldrons, few imported swords, eg Poldar Moss.
7. LBA 950-800 St Andrews
Bucket Urn/’Flat-rimmed ware’
Various socketed axes, Ewart Park swords, spearheads, sheet-metal vessels and shields, bronze and gold ornaments. Many hoards, eg St Andrews.
Earliest iron, if only ring from Balmashanner hoard.
8. EIA 800-600 Poolewe
‘Flat rimmed ware’
Sompting axes, Gündlingen swords. Poolewe hoard.
Any iron objects confidently datable to this period?