Scotland

A Glasgow restaurant recently had to edit an advertisement including an image of Michelangelo's David after it was rejected due to nudity.

Glasgow Subway Ad Censored for Featuring Michelangelo's 'David'

Citing modesty concerns, an ad firm rejected a poster depicting the Renaissance sculpture

Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation portrait

History of Now

A Not-So-Brief History of British Coronations

Ahead of Charles III’s ceremony, here's what you need to know about the origins and evolution of the centuries-old tradition

The island spans 25 acres and is located roughly six miles from the nearest town.

You Can Buy a Beautiful Uninhabited Scottish Island for $187,000

The 25-acre Barlocco Island has seabird colonies and stunning scenery—but no utilities or buildings

An artist's recreation of what the recently discovered fortlet might have looked like

Archaeologists Discover Lost Roman Fort in Scotland

The new find marks the tenth such fort found in the area, once the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire

English king Edward I stole the stone from Scotland in 1296. Approximately 700 years later, England returned the stone to its home country.

New Research

Researchers Find Hidden Markings on the Stone of Destiny, Sacred Slab Used in British Coronations

Ahead of the crowning of Charles III on May 6, experts analyzed the stone with cutting-edge technology

Discovered in a bog in Glen Affric, the tartan is now on view at V&A Dundee.

Cool Finds

This 16th-Century Cloth Is Scotland's Oldest-Known Tartan

A bog in the Highlands preserved the fabric, now on view for the first time, for hundreds of years

Replicating the last leg of French explorer Alexandra David-Néel’s journey in the early 1900s, Elise Wortley hiked 108 miles from Lachen, in Sikkim, India, to Kanchenjunga base camp in 2017.

Adventurer Elise Wortley Recreates the Journeys of Famous Female Explorers

For historical accuracy, the 33-year-old Brit wears only the cotton dresses, yak wool coats and hobnail boots that her predecessors would have had

All but seven of the letters were previously thought to be lost.

Cool Finds

Code Breakers Discover—and Decipher—Long-Lost Letters by Mary, Queen of Scots

The deposed monarch wrote the 57 encrypted messages during her captivity in England

Robert Burns, the renowned Scottish poet most famous for writing “Auld Lang Syne” 

Cool Finds

This Rare Robert Burns Book Was Discovered in a Barber Shop, Where It Was Used to Clean Razors

The rarely seen copy of the Scottish writer's debut poetry collection is now on display

Sim’oogit Ni’isjoohl (Chief Earl Stephens) of the Nisga’a Nation with the Ni’isjoohl memorial pole

Inside the Nisga'a Nation's Fight to Get a 36-Foot Totem Pole Back From Scotland

National Museums Scotland agreed to repatriate the object, which was stolen in 1929, following an in-person appeal by an Indigenous delegation

The Misses Porter (as they were sometimes called) arguably created the modern historical novel, weaving fascinating, romantic tales out of facts and events culled from history books.

The Forgotten Sisters Who Pioneered the Historical Novel

Jane and Anna Maria Porter ruled Britain's literary scene—until male imitators wrote them out of the story

Researchers have created facial reconstructions of three medieval Scottish people who were buried at the historic Whithorn site.

Art Meets Science

Stunning Facial Reconstructions Resurrect a Trio of Medieval Scots

The renderings show what a bishop, a cleric and a young woman with a remarkably symmetrical face may have looked like in life

Drawing of a woman being dragged to a ducking stool at a river in Ipswich, Suffolk, around 1600

When Authorities Dunked Outspoken Women in Water

In early modern England, women accused of being "common scolds" were immersed in rivers and lakes while strapped to contraptions known as ducking stools

Stevenson holds Head of a Peasant Woman beside the X-ray of the concealed van Gogh self-portrait.

Cool Finds

Hidden van Gogh Self-Portrait Discovered During a Routine X-Ray

The image has been obscured behind another painting for over a century

The author and a friend paddled the 200-year-old Forth and Clyde Canal into the Union Canal. The two canals form a historic, 54-mile route that bisects Scotland.

Good News

How Scotland Is Reinventing Its Centuries-Old Canals for Paddlers

In the past 20 years, the country has transformed its decrepit coal-transport infrastructure into a thriving recreational wonderland

The ornate box was recently purchased by the National Museums of Scotland.

This Lavish Silver Box Tarnished Mary, Queen of Scots—and Contributed to Her Downfall

The controversial container played a role in the deposed monarch’s fall from favor

A 14th-century illustration depicts accused witches being burned at the stake. More than 2,500 witches were executed under Scotland's 1563 Witchcraft Act.

Scotland Issues Formal Apology to Thousands Accused of Witchcraft

An estimated 2,500 Scots were executed as witches between the 16th and 18th centuries

Bottlenose dolphins swim in the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation off Scotland. The photo was taken by an aerial drone.

In a First, Scientists Use Drones to Detect Pregnant Dolphins

Researchers say the new tech will help them better understand bottlenose dolphin reproduction

This rare stone covered in carved Pictish symbols is one of just 200 stones like it that have been discovered.

Rare Stone With Pictish Symbols Discovered in Scotland

Unearthed in a farmer's field, the monument is one of only 200 of its kind known to exist

An artist’s impression of two Dearc sgiathanach, the newly-discovered species that is a close cousin of dinosaurs

Largest Jurassic Pterosaur on Record Unearthed in Scotland

The giant flying reptile had an eight-foot wingspan and lived around 170 million years ago

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