3 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Scottish Archaeologists unearth ‘missing’ Aberdeenshire monastery linked to first written Gaelic

One of the biggest mysteries in Scottish archaeological history has been solved with the discovery of the monastery site where the historic Stag Book was written, believed to be the oldest surviving Scottish manuscript.

The ancient Book of Deer has been described as one of the most important manuscripts in Scotland. It was first written in the 10th century, with a number of Gaelic notes added by five different monks in Aberdeenshire as late as the 12th century, which became the earliest surviving written record of the language.

The monastery in Aberdeenshire is thought to be where the ancient Book of Deer was first scribed. The site of the “missing” monastery was found under a field next to Deer Abbey in Buchan, which dates to the 13th century.

A new BBC Alba documentary called The Missing Monastery, due to be broadcast on Monday, details how archaeologists found artifacts that pre-dated the abbey and eventually uncovered rubble thought to be from the monastery.

The new 70-minute documentary is based around the 2022 archaeological dig in a field near Deer Abbey which was founded in the 13th century (much later than the monastery).

The excavation coincided with the Book of Deer manuscript returning to Aberdeen on loan to Aberdeen Art Gallery from the Cambridge University Library.

The Book of Deer
The Book of Deer

Gaelic-speaking archaeology graduate Mairead Morgan said: “At the beginning of the 12th century, the earliest evidence of Scottish Gaelic was written in the margins of this Latin gospel book by the monks in a Monastery in Aberdeenshire, a region which is not widely regarded as a Gaelic-speaking region today.

“However, not only does this show that Gaelic was spoken in the region, but it is also the earliest evidence that exists of written Scottish Gaelic by a good 200-300 years, which easily makes the Book of Deer one of the most important manuscripts in Scotland.”

The Book of Deer provides an insight into the early church, culture, and society of the period, and also features Latin text.

Details of local land transactions written in the margins of the Book of Deer by monks in Scottish Gaelic firmly placed the manuscript in this area of Aberdeenshire in the early 12th Century.

Lead archaeologist Ali Cameron said: “A lot of the rest of the field had been disturbed but we opened such large trenches in 2022 so that we had the best chance of finding early medieval features.

Uncovering a path at the site.
Uncovering a path at the site.

“We spent weeks excavating later material including stone and other demolition material until we got down to the earliest layers and features two weeks before the end of the dig.”

“I then led a team of students and volunteers and we systematically cut sections though all the features, collected finds and samples which are important as they are where the charcoal for dating will be.”

“We then waited a few months for the samples to be carefully processed in the University of Aberdeen under the supervision of Dr Gordon Noble and then we had our charcoal.”

She said it took three months to get the results from the laboratory, adding: “When I opened the email I was stunned and had to re-read them several times before I realised what they were telling me. It’s just unbelievable. We found the monastery.”.

Cover Photo: Undated BBC ALBA handout photo of a trench and spoil heap at the ancient Book of Deer dig site in Aberdeenshire.

Related Articles

Was Stavanger Cathedral Built on a Viking Settlement?

4 June 2021

4 June 2021

Archaeologists have discovered animal bones and habitation evidence underneath the northern part of Stavanger cathedral that they believe date from...

Buried Treasure of Trajan’s Forum: Colossal Marble Head Discovered

23 June 2025

23 June 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery has emerged from the heart of imperial Rome. During recent excavations on Via Alessandrina—funded by Italy’s...

30 Graves Found in the Basilica-Planned Ancient City

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Kibyra ancient city is situated south of Turkey, located in the town Gölhisar in the southwestern part of Burdur Province,...

The Oldest Evidence of Stone Blade Production in Southern Arabia: 80,000-Year-Old Stone Blades Discovered

21 February 2025

21 February 2025

An international team of researchers led by Knut Bretzke of Friedrich Schiller University Jena uncovered 80,000-year-old stone blades at the...

Exploring the life story of a high-status woman from isotope data in Hungary’s largest Bronze Age cemetery

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

Researchers examined 29 tombs from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of Hungary’s largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries, and one of them, a high-status...

Two Infant burials found under prehistoric “Dragon Stone” in Armenia

4 June 2024

4 June 2024

An international team of researchers has unearthed the remains of an adult woman and two infants buried under a basalt...

A carved Hand Imprint unearthed in a 1,000-year-old Jerusalem defensive moat

26 January 2023

26 January 2023

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday that archaeologists discovered the remains of a moat and a mysterious hand imprint...

A rare Byzantine gold coin discovered in Norway, probably brought from Constantinople

9 December 2023

9 December 2023

A metal detectorist exploring the mountains in the municipality of Vestre Slidre in southern Norway discovered a rare histamenon nomisma...

The Ancient City of Yijin Among the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in China

3 February 2021

3 February 2021

Located in Hangzhou’s Lin’an District, Yijin Ancient City among the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China in 2020. Yijin Ancient...

Incredible Mayan Inventions and Achievements

31 July 2022

31 July 2022

The Mayans excelled at agriculture, pottery, writing, calendars, and arithmetic, leaving an incredible quantity of spectacular architecture and symbolic artwork...

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists. The archaeological...

Archaeologists Unearth 2500-Year-Old Settlement in North Macedonia

10 April 2025

10 April 2025

Recent archaeological excavations at Gradishte, near the village of Crnobuki in North Macedonia, have unveiled a significant ancient settlement that...

8,200-year-old lacquerware found in China

9 July 2021

9 July 2021

Archaeologists in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province have identified two items of lacquerware at the Jingtoushan ruins, the oldest ever found...

Croatian Team Finds a Way to Effectively and Permanently Preserve Stuka Aircraft Wreck Under the Sea

11 December 2024

11 December 2024

 The ICUA Zadar team of conservators and archaeologists carried out in situ underwater conservation of the wreckage of the Junkers...

Tombs of Queens of Commagene Detected

23 September 2021

23 September 2021

The graves built by Commagene King Mithritades II (36-21 BC) for his mother Isias, his sister Antiokhis, and Antiochis’s daughter...