Research team from Aberdeen University shortlisted for archaeology award

A team from the University of Aberdeen's archaeology department has been shortlisted for a book award due to their research into the Picts.

‘Picts: Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North’ has been nominated for Book of the Year in the 2024 Current Archaeology Awards.

The work of the researchers will also feature in two television series, on the Disney Channel and BBC.

Professor Gordon Noble, who co-authored the novel, says their work has revealed new information about Pictish society.

“The book brings together a decade of research and excavation to show a new viewpoint on this critical era in Scottish history.

"Our discoveries have revealed a sophisticated society, in touch with trading networks that extended across Europe and creating large, hierarchical settlements”.

The Picts were given their name by the invading Romans, which translates to “the painted ones”.

They were classed as a brutal people by Roman writers, but research from the University of Aberdeen suggests that they were more complex.

The Pictish Arts Society has hailed the novel as “a milestone” in understanding the culture of this almost forgotten civilization.

The television series’ which feature the team’s work will air later this month on the Disney Channel and after the New Year on the BBC.