Return of the Vikings

As part of this year's Highland Council Highland Archaeology Festival 2021, Kyle & Lochalsh Community Trust (KLCT) will be hosting a special day of experimental archaeology activities and fun for visitors at the Plock: an area of community parkland that KLCT manages on behalf of local people in Kyle of Lochals. Whether you are a seasoned archaeologist or a complete beginner, the festival will let you explore an amazing range of places and collections. There’ll be Viking-style crafts, cooking and games and plenty of other fun things to see and do for all the family.

The visitor of the event gets an opportunity to find out about some of the activities, events and public programming that KLCT hopes to provide as part of the proposed ‘Viking village’ now being developed at the Plock. Construction work is due to begin on this new development in Spring 2023. The village, once completed, will be a ‘living museum’ where visitors of all ages can discover and learn about the history of Viking incursion and settlement in Lochalsh, along the western seaboard of Scotland and throughout the Western Isles from the 8^th to the 13^th centuries – between the first raid on Iona Abbey in 795 and the decisive Battle of Largs between the kingdoms of Scotland and Norway in 1263. The village, which will be called Ótrgard, will be constructed in local materials using traditional methods, and will be based on architectural designs developed in close consideration of archaeological evidence from Viking sites across the western and north-western Highlands and islands, as well as Orkney, Shetland and the Nordic countries of modern-day Scandinavia.

For more information on other activities please visit: https://www.highlandarchaeologyfestival.org

Date and time

The event will take place on Tuesday the 12^th of October 2021, and will run between 11am and 4pm. It will be free to enter and everybody is welcome.