Tarbat Discovery Centre

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Tarbat Discovery Centre

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The Tarbat Discovery Centre is a Pictish & Local Heritage Museum

Housed in the refurbished Tarbat Old Parish Church,Tarbat Discovery Centre is a museum, learning and activity centre dedicated to displaying and preserving the heritage of the Tarbat peninsula. It is the site of the only fully excavated Pictish monastic settlement in Scotland to date, now a National Monument. The Centre displays many of the artefacts uncovered during the extensive archaeological investigations of the site along with local exhibitions, parish records, photographic archives and more.

03/11/2026

Not long to go until ‘Picts, Paint and Parchment’ on Saturday 7th November!

This will be a family friendly afternoon of free events, with workshops for young people aged 8-16 and other activities for all in the Carnegie Hall.

🎟️ Tickets required for workshops, book via the links below:

🫟 Pictish art workshop: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487638
⚒️ Leather workshop: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487751
💍 Jewellery workshop: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487783

In the evening, Thomas Keyes will give a lecture at Tarbat Discovery Centre on his recent new archaeological experiment to create and test the vellum tank found at Portmahomack. Come along to find out what this might suggest about the origins of the Book of Kells.

🎟️ Tickets available here: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487920

30/10/2026

🧙‍♀️ Are you brave enough to come to the Discovery Centre on Halloween and meet the Tarbat witches?

Tomorrow we will have a spooky hour at TDC, with games like 'Pin the Nose on the Witch' and a surprise visitor in the Crypt 🐲 Dressing up is encouraged, and the witches may even have some Halloween treats for brave visitors!

⏰ 6pm - 7pm
🗓 Saturday 31st October 2026
📍Tarbat Discovery Centre

29/10/2026

continues… thank you Historylinks Museum, Dornoch, Sutherland for the tag!

For our spooky entry this month, we’re putting forward something you can actually step into – our Crypt at the Tarbat Discovery Centre. 💀

When you visit the centre, (carefully!) head down some narrow stone steps and you’ll find yourself in the oldest surviving part of the building.

Once used as a holy place, the Crypt still contains a small aumbry built into the stonework – a cupboard where sacred relics or sacraments would have been kept.

But its history gets considerably darker…

The site is connected to an infamous episode of clan violence in the 15th century, when tradition tells of members of the Mackay clan taking refuge inside the church during a conflict with the Rosses. The church was set alight, with those sheltering inside trapped in the flames.

Centuries later, archaeological excavations around the church would reveal just how much history was hidden beneath the building. 88 medieval burials were excavated within the church, while the Crypt itself is also where fragments of Tarbat’s incredible Dragon Stone were discovered. 🐉

The crypt is arguably one of the most popular parts of our centre with ancient stonework, steep steps and moss creeping up the walls.

We think the Crypt makes a pretty strong contender for this month’s . 💀

What have you got Highland Museum of Childhood and Clan Macpherson Museum?

Museums and Heritage Highland

29/10/2026

🔍 On Saturday 7th November Master Craftsman Thomas Keyes will give a talk on his latest archaeological experiment examining the methods of vellum production historically practiced at Tarbat. Thomas will discuss how this evidence informs the hypothesis suggesting that the Book of Kells could have been produced here.

🎟️ Book tickets here: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487920

28/10/2026

🎟 Have you got your tickets yet?

Here is the schedule for ‘Picts, Paint & Parchment’ on Saturday 7th November, with 3 sets of workshops for young people aged 11-16 at various times. Activities will run throughout the afternoon for all ages. All events are free of charge; tickets are required for the workshops and available at:

🫟 Pictish art workshop: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487638
⚒️ Leather workshop: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487751
💍 Jewellery workshop: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487783

26/10/2026

👏 Thank you to Dr David Alston for giving a fascinating talk with us last week on the Ross family of nearby Cadboll Estate and their 17th century links with plantations in Guyana.

David's talk was a fantastic insight into the impacts our local ancestors have had upon people and environments around the world, offering an important view into the history of the area's global connections.

📣 We have more talks upcoming throughout winter so be sure to keep an eye on our page for announcements!

25/10/2026

🚨 We are CLOSED today (Sunday 25th October) due to the weather. Apologies for any inconvenience.

24/10/2026

💡Could vellum made at Portmahomack help shed new light on where the Book of Kells was produced?

Thomas Keyes’s experimental archaeology at Portmahomack has attracted media and scholarly attention. The work was supported by a grant from the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework.

In this evening lecture, Thomas will present findings from his experiment to reconstruct and test the hide-soaking tank discovered at the 8th-century monastic site at Portmahomack.

Drawing together archaeological evidence for vellum production at the site and the results of this new experiment, Thomas will explore what they reveal about the type of vellum made at Portmahomack — and what that might mean for the theory that the Book of Kells was produced here.

🎟️ Tickets available here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2487920

⏰ 7:30pm
📅 Saturday 7th November
📍 Carnegie Hall, Portmahomack

23/10/2026

🎟 Booking links are now available for the workshops, please see original post.

22/10/2026

🚨We will be CLOSED tomorrow (Friday 23rd October) due to a planned power cut. Apologies for any inconvenience. We will reopen as normal on Saturday 24th.

Address

Tarbat Discovery Centre, Tarbatness Road, Tain, Ross-shire
Portmahomack
IV201YA

Telephone

01862 871351

Website

http://www.tarbat-discovery.co.uk/

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