Template:Wp-Inverness-History

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Much of what is known about Inverness's prehistory comes from archeological work that takes place before construction/development work as part of the planning process.

Between 2009-2010, archaeological work in advance of the creation of flood defences to the south of the city at Knocknagael Farm by GUARD archaeology discovered an archaeological site that showed humans had been living in the Inverness area from at least 6500 BC, the Late Mesolithic period. That same site showed people living/working in the area from the mid-7th millennium BC into the Late Iron Age (1st millennium AD) with most activity taking place in the Early Neolithic (4th millennium BC). The archaeologists also found a piece of flint from Yorkshire that showed that people in Inverness may have been trading with Yorkshire during the Neolithic.

Between 1996-1997, CFA Archaeology (then part of the University of Edinburgh) undertook excavations of crop marks in the west of Inverness in advance of the construction of a retail and business park. A Bronze Age cemetery was discovered in 1996 and in 1997 the archaeologists found the remains of a Bronze Age settlement and a Iron Age settlement, with an ironsmith. It is one the earliest examples of Iron Smithing in Scotland. The Iron Age settlement had Roman brooches from the AD 1st-2nd centuries, indicating trade with the Roman Empire. Similarly, the Bronze Age site showed signs of metal production with ceramic piece-moulds designed for the casting of Late Bronze Age leaf-shaped swords found. A 93 oz (2.9 kg) silver chain dating to AD 500–800 was found just to the south of Torvean in 1983.