Actually many a historian will argue that Scotland advanced further faster than England to the South. Scotland presents an odd paradox. The settled civilized lowlands which includes Edinburgh and the savage highlands. Edinburgh was quite 'modern' a thousand years ago and all of the above items including books were well known. Carpets were essential in drafty Castles and books were a great alternative to b^ggering sheep (had to say that)... Gonna throw a few links at you. First up, iron swords and tools, terrific wood and bone carving, skilled weavers of wool, skillfull at makin jewellry from imported gold and silver.
One odd note you ask about life a thousand years ago, which I would interpret as 1008 but then you mention 6th Century? Whatever I still insist that life was pretty cool in Scotland!!
http://www.royal-deeside.org.uk/RDhistory/history2.htm
http://medievalscotland.org/
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/crafts5.html
Here is one that might help a lot!!
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/weststow.html
""""The Anglo Saxons originally came to Britain when they were invited to settle in Kent by King Vortigern in return for their help in defending Britain after the Romans left.
The Saxons soon spread Northwards. By 642AD they had captured Din Eidyn (Edinburgh) and Stirling in Scotland.
Lothene (Lothian) remained a mainly Saxon area even after the Vikings settled in the West of Scotland.
The house shown opposite is built of wooden plank walls and a thatched roof. It has a pit under its floorboards which could be used as a cellar. There is also a window which is closed by a single shutter.
This picture shows some metal working tools.
Charcoal is made by burning wood slowly in a covered pit. This charcoal burns at a higher temperature than wood and can be used for melting metals such as pewter for casting.
It can also be used to heat iron up to red heat so that it can be shaped by a blacksmith.
Bellows made of wood and leather were used to blow air into a charcoal fire to increase the temperature.
Many of the tools the Saxons used in metal working are similar to those used today.
The early Anglo Saxons wore mainly woolen and linen clothes. The basic garment was a T-tunic with narrow sleeves. The wrists of the tunic might be fastened with a hook and eye or laced in to be particularly tight fitting.
click here to see pattern for T-tunic
Men wore the tunic shorter, with trousers underneath. Women wore the tunic as a longer dress and covered it with a sleeveless peplos dress, made by gathering a tube of material up at the shoulders with brooches.
There is some evidence from later in the medieval period that women would have worn trousers under their dresses too, perhaps in colder weather.
Clothing might be decorated with braid or embroidery.
The pole lathe shown opposite was used in the same way as a modern wood lathe. Cutting was performed using a separate blade held in the hand.
The Saxons made cups, bowls, plates, spoons and many other items on lathes like this.
Domestic items were also made of pottery, which was baked around a fire to harden it.
Livestock such as the pigs shown opposite wandered freely in the village and probably took shelter in the surrounding forest at night. Hens roosted in trees.
The animals would eat the scraps of food discarded by the human population. They would only be deliberately fed in order to fatten them up just before they were killed to be eaten.
These pictures were taken at West Stow Anglo Saxon Village near Bury St Edmonds in England. The village is run by the West Stow Trust. ""
FICTION but might help!
http://gorddcymru.org/dragonskies/
""Read the novels of the Dragon Skies, Beneath A Dragon Sky, The Last Dragon Harper, Dragon Harper Curse, & Red Knight and Dragon Skies, the history of Myrddin, the last Dragon Harper. Dragon Skies is a thrilling, dark and sensual story of war and revenge set in 6th Century Scotland. Driven mad at the Battle of Arderydd when his lord died and his dreams were destroyed, Lailoken, the last of the great dragon harpers, arises from pain and madness to seek redemption and revenge. A culmination of myth and legend, blending history and fantasy of the war plagued years that led to the rise of Northumbria with the life of a simple man of poetic heart and warrior soul.
One lonely man, fated by the gods to walk the battlefields and witness the events, will become legend. This is the history of Lailoken, known as Myrddin, the last dragon harper.
Dragon Skies is the dark and magical history of northern Britain in the late sixth century. The series is a historical fantasy of the life of Lailoken, whom I believe to be the same individual as Myrddin ab Morvryn, the Scottish Merlin, one of the three great harpers of Britain. The series explores the dying struggles of the last alliances of the Romano-British North. Just as the southern British strength died with Arthur, the Northern kingdoms were to meet their challenge in the final decades of the sixth century. I have taken this story from the fragments of Dark Age poetry and legend, blending history and Celtic myth with my beliefs of the possible. There are aspects, motifs and legendary fragments of the Arthurian period woven into the history.""
And this site should prove helpful
http://www.scotlandinargentina.com.ar/arqueo_primeros_habiting.htm
Peace/////\\\\\\\////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\
PS Carpets - - - hmm best to go with REED mats, swamp grass woven into mats were most common and helped to tamp down dirt in simpler homes. Weeving reeds into mats was a task an old feeble person could do to earn their keep and such mats were essential to health & happiness!!!
http://www.comlongon.com/output/the_great_hall.asp
""The original flagstone floor would have been covered in woven reed mats, these in turn ---""
