EXPLORING THE PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE WITH MESOLITHIC DEESIDE

Mesolithic Deeside was established in 2017 and is now well-established in making a major contribution to our understanding of human activity in the prehistoric period along the River Dee corridor.

The group’s origins

The group owes its existence to the work and enthusiasm of many who came before us. To explain, we must turn back the clock to the early 20th century when Hilda Patterson, who lived near Banchory, persevered in having her ‘pygmy’ flints recognised as being from the mesolithic period. The expert thinking at the time was that it was far too cold in Scotland after the last Ice Age for people to have survived.

It never fails to amaze me when chatting with the next person fieldwalking to discover their background, interests and former experience

Then in the 1970s another local resident, Dr John Grieve, a retired biochemist, collected hundreds of lithics and identified a