More than 3,000 years ago, a community lived, worked and raised families on land that is now being transformed into a modern Scottish suburb. Archaeologists excavating at Northbar, on the south-eastern outskirts of Erskine in Renfrewshire, discovered the remains of 12 Bronze Age roundhouses dating between 1500 and 1100 BC. The settlement contained evidence of farming, animal keeping, pottery production and weaving, and nearby graves revealed that the site had been used for burial centuries before the houses appeared. The excavation also uncovered charred crops, animal bones and large quantities of hazelnut shells, hinting at concerns over food shortages. Although the settlement eventually disappeared without obvious destruction, its remains provide a detailed glimpse into everyday life, work and hardship in Bronze Age Scotland.
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