Pictish, Celtic, Scottish: The longing for belonging

Tarbat Discovery Centre is a museum located in the former parish church of Portmahomack, Easter Ross (Figure 1), and is run by the Tarbat Historic Trust. It is adjacent to the site of a Pictish monastic settlement dating from the 6 century, which was the focus of intensive excavation and analysis from 1996 to 2007 (Carver 2008). The museum tells the story of the monastic site, and displays artefacts from the excavations, alongside exhibits relating to the later history of the area. Urquhart Castle (Figure 2) is located on the banks of Loch Ness, south-west of the Highland capital Inverness….