From 10 – 16 August, Islay Heritage will be holding a series of exciting events in the Isle of Islay.

On Thursday 10 August, at the island’s annual Islay Show at Bridgend Islay Heritage will be presenting informative displays and will also be encouraging visitors to ‘step into the Stone Age’ with Will Lord, who will be coming to demonstrate flint knapping, stone tool making and other skills used in everyday prehistoric hunter-gatherer life.

Islay Heritage will lead daily guided walks on Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 August to the recently excavated “Giant’s Grave” Neolithic monument site, south of Port Charlotte and up the hill.  The walks will set off from Nereabolls (Nerabus) car park at 2:00pm on each of these days, and will take about three hours.

Public lectures will be given during the week by Professor Steven Mithen FSA, FSA(Scot), FBA, beginning on the evening of Monday 14 August, at 7:00pm in the Ramsay Hall, Port Ellen.  For this evening’s talk, Professor Mithen’s topic will be “Imagining Kildalton; the digital reconstruction of Kildalton Chapel”.

On Tuesday 14 August, Professor Mithen will speak at Islay Natural History Trust, Port Charlotte at 7:00pm, to give an update on the further excavation work done this year at Rubh Port an t-Seilich.  His talk will be on “First Footsteps; Islay 12,000 years ago”.

On Wednesday 15 August, to conclude the week Professor Mithen will speak at Ionad Chaluim Chille Ile, Islay’s Gaelic cultural centre in Bowmore, at 7:00pm.  For this evening’s talk, his topic will be “Forgotten lives of the Ileach; the archaeology of Iron Age Dun Fhinn and later settlements in southeastern Islay”.

Please click on the link below for further details of events and to download a printable copy of the poster:

Islay Archaeology Week 2017