This Neolithic stone village is so well preserved that you can still see domestic details typical of the age, such as flagstone box beds, built due to the lack of timber on the islands. Small passages unite what must have been quite a large and intricate settlement of stock farmers, who originally came to Scotland from mainland Europe; a turf roof provided insulation from wind and cold. The chambered tombs at Maes Howe on Orkney are another great architectural achievement, dating from 2750 BC and complete with Viking graffiti from later raids on the islands. These tombs are remarkably well constructed, incorporating monoliths into the fine masonry that supports the narrow passages and small tomb cells. A fairly large community also existed at the Jarlshof prehistoric and Norse settlement on Shetland, where small stone cells grouped around a central hearth provided the main accommodation, with now-ruined outhouses used for bronze work and sheltering cattle.

The survival of a number of ritual sites, including many stone circles, suggests some form of religious activity in Scotland at this time. One of the most beautiful and well-preserved stands at Callanish on Lewis, where a circle of megaliths rise majestically from the ground with radiating lines of stone in a mysteriously symbolic form. The central stone is nearly 16ft high and sits next to a small chambered cairn, which may have once contained human remains.

During the Bronze Age, from around 1000 BC, the two predominant types of defensive settlements, made from earth and timber, were spectacular hillforts, and artificial islands built in the middle of lochs, called crannogs; little now remains of either of these. It wasn?t until the Iron Age (from around 400 BC) that the next significant architectural development was to occur. For residents of the north-west mainland and the northern islands, the need for protection from attack or invasion and from the harshness of the weather was particularly pressing, and so it?s here that most of Scotland's 400 or so brochs, the majority in ruins, can be found. Circular, windowless and tall - some over 40ft high - these dry-stone buildings were sturdily built to protect the inhabitants who lived inside, sheltered underneath wooden constructions. Broad at the bottom and narrow at the top, the unusual shape was due to the necessity for a thick base to support the high walls and provide storage and guard rooms. Brochs also had two walls and a spiral staircase leading up to a timber roof ? a very useful vantage point. Some were inhabited for several centuries; the finest example is Shetland's Broch of Mousa from about 100 BC, which is remarkably well preserved due to its isolated position on a small island, free from the stone-stealing that plagued subsequent settlements.

In 83 AD, the Scottish border came under threat from the Romans. Their success was limited, however, and the civilizing influence of Rome was to have barely any effect on the life and tribes of Scotland, who continued to live in brochs and crannogs, or erect primitive buildings of timber, wattle and clay. Of the Roman structures that have survived, the most impressive are the remnants of the Antonine Wall, a 36-mile-long construction that stretched from Kilpatrick to Bo'ness. Less substantial than the great Hadrian's Wall, it was originally built as a temporary measure to aid the overthrow of the fierce Pictish tribes, but was soon abandoned.

The subsequent introduction of Christianity left a much greater architectural legacy in Scotland. The primitive church of 397 AD at Whithorn marks one of the earliest Christian sites in Scotland and, with the arrival of St Columba at Iona in 563, the Celtic Christian community really came to dominate the country's religious matters. Evidence of this can be seen in the characteristic round towers at Brechin in Angus and Egilsay in Orkney. Places of refuge for the monastic fellowship during times of attack, these were well defended, with a raised entrance and few windows. The simple and basic structures of the Irish Celtic church conveyed their ascetic religious beliefs, while artistic and creative energies were poured into the making of sculpted crosses and illuminated manuscripts. Fine carving survives at the monastic foundation on Iona, a religious community that still thrives today. Few other such buildings remain, indicating that they were constructed from materials like timber, clay and turf.

The marriage of Malcolm III to the Saxon princess Margaret in 1070 heralded a dramatic upsurge in Scottish architecture. Malcolm created a feudal society based on agriculture and, more importantly, his wife orchestrated the reintroduction of Latin Christianity to the central areas of Scotland, founding many ecclesiastical buildings and finally bringing a European influence to this region, while the Highlands and Islands continued to build in the vernacular tradition. The Romanesque (or Norman) style can be seen at its best at Dalmeny. This simple, thick-walled three-cell church has narrow window openings and a round arched doorway crowned by typically Romanesque wall arcading. The Anglo-Norman influence also created larger buildings, cruciform in plan with aisled naves and three-storey elevations; these were not actual physical levels but would consist of arches, a middle storey, usually formed by blind arches or decorative wall hangings but sometimes an actual gallery for the local notables and, at the top, stained-glass windows. The thick piers and semicircular arches of Dunfermline Abbey in Fife are typically Norman.