Stirling is Scotland’s smallest Royal City, and also one of its newest.
But, strangely, it’s also the ancient capital and one of the most important locations in all of Scottish history.
On Monday 30 September, Extremis Publishing is releasing a new book by Murray Cook. With full-colour illustrations, Digging into Stirling’s Past: Uncovering the Secrets of Scotland’s Smallest City tells Stirling’s story through its secret nooks and crannies; the spots the tourists overlook and those that the locals have forgotten or never visited.
If you wanted to invade or to resist invasion, you did it at Stirling. It has witnessed Celts, Romans, Britons, Picts, Scots, Angles, Vikings, Edward I, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Edward II, Oliver Cromwell, Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Duke of Cumberland, and even played a decisive role in D-Day. This huge history has left its mark all over this tiny place.
Stirling is Scotland’s best preserved medieval city, boasting one of Europe’s finest Renaissance palaces, the world’s oldest football, Mary Queen of Scots’ coronation, James III’s grave and murder scene, the site of a successful 16th century assassination of Scotland’s head of state, Scotland’s first powered and unpowered flights, Scotland’s biggest royal rubbish dump, one of Scotland’s earliest churches, Scotland’s two most important battles, vitrified forts, Scotland’s oldest and best preserved Royal Park, connections to King Arthur and the Vikings, Britain’s last beheading, Scotland’s largest pyramid – and its oldest resident is 4000 years old!
This book tells Stirling’s story through its secret nooks and crannies; the spots the tourists overlook and those that the locals have forgotten or never visited.
Join Stirling’s burgh archaeologist, Dr Murray Cook, as he takes you on a tour of a fascinating city’s history which is full of heroes and battles, grave robbing, witch trials, bloody beheadings, violent sieges, Jacobite plots, assassins, villains, plagues, Kings and Queens… and much, much more besides.
Dr Murray Cook is Stirling Council’s archaeologist and is originally from Leith. He now lives in Stirling with a long-suffering wife, three teenage girls and two pesky but loveable cats.
He has undertaken numerous excavations across the region and published over 40 books and articles. He won a Stirling’s Provost Award in 2018 for his work for the council, where he has helped raise over £300,000 to be spent on community archaeology and research and has even got invited to see the Queen at Holyrood Palace, along with a few hundred others!
He has also appeared on several TV programmes.
For more information click HERE.
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