Archaeologists trace lost settlements of Glencoe destroyed after 1692 massacre

Archaeologists are to trace the lost settlements of the Glencoe Massacre for the first time and place the human story of the atrocity back into one of Scotland's most visited landscapes.

By The Newsroom Monday, 12th February 2018, 10:02 am Updated Monday, 12th February 2018, 10:06 am

National Trust for Scotland has carried out initial survey work at three former settlements which fall within its property at the glen with more detailed studies due to follow.

Glencoe was the scene of one of Scotland’s most infamous murders of the clan era when the state ordered the killing of the MacDonalds of Glencoe after their chief tried but failed to meet a deadline to pledge allegiance to King William II.

Sign up to ourfive to a cottage through the glen, from Carnoch to the loch below Aonach Eagach.

It was at Achnacon that Seargeant Robert Barber gathered his men in the early morning of 13 February 1692, some time before 5am, and ordered the kill. The soldiers then marched through the townships, with Barber taking 18 men to the home of his host, MacDonald of Achnacon. Musket shots were fired through the windows, according to John Prebble’s Glencoe, with the host’s brother instantly killed.

Achnacon managed to escape after being dragged outside. Meanwhile, 14 people were reportedly burned to death in one cottage.