According to HLF, 460 community groups have taken the opportunity to get hands on with the stories, traditions, industries and landscape which surround them thanks to funding from the National Lottery. From Unst in Shetland to Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway, 98 projects dotted across the country have inspired people of all ages to investigate, preserve and share the heritage on their doorstep.

[quote=Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs]“Hundreds of community groups across Scotland have embraced the Stories, Stones and Bones programme. It underlines Scotland’s place as a nation with rich history, heritage and impressive archaeology." [/quote]

Prehistoric Interior Design

In Whithorn, young people have turned their hand to Iron Age interior design, exploring how their ancestors would have lived in a Roundhouse, from the furniture they sat on to the music they danced to. Hundreds of children have used the Roundhouse as a prehistoric classroom to experience life 450BC. The Roundhouse has been reconstructed using detail from an archaeological discovery of an incredibly well-preserved roundhouse under the peat nearby.

Stories, Stones and Bones

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, said: “Hundreds of community groups across Scotland have embraced the Stories, Stones and Bones programme. It underlines Scotland’s place as a nation with rich history, heritage and impressive archaeology.

“I welcome HLF engagement and funding in the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. It has generated huge interest and captured the imagination of community-based projects that wish to celebrate their own local heritage.”

As a key partner to the Year of History, Heritage, and Archaeology, HLF has awarded over £852,000 funding to the 98 projects through its dedicated Stories, Stones and Bones programme. Over half the applications were from people motivated to explore heritage for the very first time.