Balbridie facts for kids

Balbridie is an ancient site in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where a very old house, called a Neolithic long house, was found. It's located on the south bank of the River Dee, east of Banchory. This place is one of the earliest known permanent homes from the Neolithic period (Stone Age) in Scotland. People lived here between 4000 and 3400 BC.

The Balbridie longhouse is the biggest one ever found in Britain. Across Europe, huge wooden houses like Balbridie were very rare. Only a few others have been discovered, like one in Cambridgeshire. Another site called Dreghorn also had signs of a large rectangular building, similar to Balbridie.

In 2022, scientists studied ancient grain from Balbridie. They found out that people living there didn't use manure to help their crops grow. This was because the soil in the area was naturally very good.

How Was Balbridie Discovered?

The Balbridie site was found in 1976 using aerial photography. This is when pictures are taken from an airplane. That summer was unusually dry, which made hidden cropmarks appear in the fields. These marks showed the outline of a very large building that no one knew was there.

After this discovery, archaeologists started digging at the site. They found big holes where wooden posts used to be. These postholes helped them figure out what the huge timber (wooden) building looked like.

Why Was Balbridie an Important Place?

The area around Balbridie has other important ancient sites, like the Neolithic site of Bucharn. Experts believe that this part of Scotland was a popular place for early settlements.

Balbridie was not only close to the River Dee, but also near the Elsick Mounth trackway. This trackway was an old route that people used to cross the lower Grampian Mountains. Being near both a river and an important path made Balbridie a great location for early communities.

See also

• Coy Burn