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Before castles were built in Scotland, people built different types of shelters to keep warm and dry. Some shelters were also built to keep people or their things safe from attack.

In this article you can find out:

• What kinds of buildings existed in Scotland before castles
• What a fortification is
• Examples of early fortifications in Scotland

This resource is suitable for Castles topics for P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7 (First and Second Level Curriculum for Excellence).

We call these early buildings fortifications. A fortification is a building, wall or fence used to keep people and places safe from attack.

Look through the slideshow to see different types of fortifications from across Scotland.

Even though these fortifications are very old you can still see evidence or where they were and what they looked like today.

Look through the slideshow. Try comparing the ruins you can see now with what they might have been like hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Join pupils from Stenness Community School in Orkney to learn all about the fascinating history of Skara Brae.

Draw an early fortification.

Choose an early fortification to draw a picture of:

• roundhouse
• longhouse
• crannog
• broch
• hillfort

Research the building you have chosen. Find out about its features and try to include them in your drawing.

Some questions to think about:

• What shape is it? Was it round or long and narrow?
• What materials did people use to build it? Did they use stone or wood?
• Where was it usually built? Was it built up high or near water?

Life in Scotland before castles

Before castles were built, different communities of people built their own shelters and fortifications in Scotland. For examples, Vikings built longhouses and Romans built hillforts.