Journey · 6 stops

Under the pinewood

One Scottish pinewood from the glacial till beneath it to the birds, words and skills above it.

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Reviewed by the Chronos Terra content advisor, September 2026 (illustrative).

Stop 1 · 2000 to 2026
A pit in the pinewood
Start beneath the trees. This hand-dug profile shows litter, bleached sand, an iron pan and glacial till. Every other stop sits somewhere in these layers or above them.
SoilT1 Recorded. A direct record: a recording, specimen, photograph or transcript of the thing itself.
Pinewood podzol profile, Abernethy
An illustrative soil profile beneath native Scots pine: litter, bleached eluvial layer, iron pan and till.
2021Abernethy Forest, Strathspey, Scotland
Stop 2 · 16 to 11 ka
Ice leaves the strath
The till at the base has no direct date. Its age is inferred from the regional retreat of the ice, so it carries a T3 badge and a confidence statement.
SoilT3 Inferred. An inference from evidence with a stated method and confidence.
Basal glacial till, below 110 cm, inferred age
The till beneath the profile, inferred to date from the last ice retreat.
15 to 12 kaAbernethy Forest, Strathspey, Scotland
This stop shows a T3 record. On the globe, the tier switch is turned on for this stop only.
Stop 3 · 4000 to 3000 BCE
A fire in the Neolithic
A charcoal band, radiocarbon dated to the fourth millennium BCE, records a fire in the young pinewood. People or lightning? The sample alone cannot say.
SoilT2 Documented. A secondary record of the thing: a described, catalogued or transcribed account.
Charcoal band, 40 to 50 cm, radiocarbon dated
A charcoal-rich band at the base of the bleached horizon, dated to the fourth millennium BCE.
3600 to 3300 BCEAbernethy Forest, Strathspey, Scotland
Stop 4 · 2015 to 2026
Dawn at the lek
Press play to hear a displaying male capercaillie. The recording site is generalised to a 50 km cell because leks are easily disturbed.
EndangeredT1 Recorded. A direct record: a recording, specimen, photograph or transcript of the thing itself.Generalised to about 50 km
Capercaillie display call, Cairngorms
Male display call recorded at a spring lek in a Scottish pinewood. Location generalised to protect the lek.
2019Cairngorms region, Scotland
0:00 / 0:03Denoised
Clicking phrases rising to a cork-pop, then a gurgle. Placeholder audio.
Stop 5 · 2010 to 2026
The words for it
A Badenoch speaker names the trees, birds and ground of the pinewood in Gaelic. Recorded with consent; the location is generalised for their privacy.
LanguageT1 Recorded. A direct record: a recording, specimen, photograph or transcript of the thing itself.Generalised to about 10 km
Gaelic pinewood words, Badenoch speaker
A native speaker names the trees, birds and soils of the pinewood in Gaelic. Recorded with consent.
2018Badenoch, Scottish Highlands
0:00 / 0:03Raw
A speaker lists Gaelic pinewood words. Placeholder audio.
Stop 6 · 2000 to 2026
Tar from the roots
Pine tar once kept Highland boats and ropes alive. This documented demonstration links out to the heritage group who filmed it. If the species matters to you, the closing link lets you act.
SkillT2 Documented. A secondary record of the thing: a described, catalogued or transcribed account.Region only
Pine tar burning, traditional method
A documented demonstration of making tar from Scots pine roots in an earth kiln.
2019Scottish Highlands
Open at Heritage group (external site)
Plant a memorial tree for this species Opens the Eco-Memory Registry, a sister programme, on an external site. Opens Eco-Memory Registry, an external site.