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Some 11,000 years ago the retreat of the glaciers covering the north of Britain enabled stone age hunters and then farmers to colonise the newly uncovered lands. Over the centuries there followed wave upon wave of migrants: Celts from Europe, Scots, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings.
In the 10th century the Kingdom of Alba emerged from
this melting-pot of vibrant cultures, though it was not yet Scotland as we
know it today. Described sometimes as the King who made Scotland, David I
(1124 -1153) imposed royal power and turned Scotland into a feudal kingdom,
modelled in part on its neighbour to the south. Scotland's relationship
with England was to dominate its subsequent history.
