chiefdom · British Isles

Carnonacae

100 CE – 200 CE (approx.)

People of north-west Scotland named in Ptolemy's Geography, usually placed on the coast of Wester Ross.

Origins

The Carnonacae appear in Ptolemy's Geography of about 150 on the western coast of the Scottish Highlands, north of the Creones and south of the Caereni, roughly in modern Wester Ross. Their name may contain a Celtic element meaning cairn or horn, perhaps referring to rocky headlands.

Rule and society

Nothing is recorded of their rulers or institutions. The coast of Wester Ross supported small populations living in roundhouses and duns, with brochs appearing along the Atlantic seaboard in the last centuries BCE. These tall drystone towers suggest local elites able to organise considerable labour.

Decline and legacy

The Carnonacae do not appear in any later source. Their territory later formed part of the lands of the Picts and, from the 9th century, came under strong Norse influence.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Carnonacae. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/carnonacae
MLA
“Carnonacae.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/carnonacae. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Carnonacae.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/carnonacae.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Carnonacae’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/carnonacae (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻