With the support of the National Trust for Scotland, a team of archaeologists and students from the University of Glasgow, along with a variety of volunteers, have spent a second year digging in Glencoe.

Untold stories of Glencoe

The recent archaeological excavations uncovered MacDonald of Achnacon’s turf-walled house and among the finds was a scatter of 17th century bronze coins, potentially the proceeds of the fateful night’s gambling, lost as the massacre began.

MacDonald of Achnacon, unlike his brother, survived and was taken outside to be shot by the government soldiers. However, as they prepared to fire, he tore off his plaid cloak, threw this over his attackers, and fled off into the winter morning darkness. While excavating just outside this house structure, two volunteers on the 2024 dig found a bent plaid pin and two pieces of lead musket balls; the team think these could be the traces of MacDonald of Achnacon’s escape.