A monument to a Scottish hero, and a testament to the country’s industrial past, has been restored to its former glory.
And now future generations can fly the flag and lay claim to Scotland’s proud past at Bannockburn.
The National Trust for Scotland have buried a time capsule at the borestone within the iconic rotunda monument at the heritage site, where history has it that Robert the Bruce placed his standard on the eve of the battle.
The ceremony marked the completion of conservation and reconstructive works to the iconic flagpole, which can now once again fly the saltire.
It also aimed to continue the legacy of workers from the Grangemouth Dockyard Company, who buried the original time capsule while repairing the flagpole at the site in 1937.
This was only discovered when the topmast was removed for essential repairs as part of the Battle of Bannockburn project earlier this year.
The monument is still undergoing a range of conservation and remedial works as part of the project, a partnership between the National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland, to restore the site in time for the 700th anniversary of the battle in 2014.
The flagpole was erected on June 25 1870, but the topmast had to be replaced in 1937 after a winter storm caused major damage.
Riggers from Grangemouth dockyards applied a new topmast and added a weathervane in the shape of Bruce’s battleaxe. After years of rough treatment from the Scottish weather, the topmast of the flagpole was again declared unsafe.
As a result, it could no longer fly the saltire, as it had done since 1870. Now the recovered topmast has been replaced by a new stainless steel version, including a weathervane which is a replica of the 1937 style.
This reaches the same height as the previous flagstaff 120 feet and the completed works mean that the saltire is flying once again over the heritage site.
Yesterday the time capsule was buried by Battle of Bannockburn project director David McAllister, NTS curator Alastair Smith and Rory MacLeod, the grandson of Alexander Aikman, the chairman and managing director of the Grangemouth Dockyard Company, who made the decision to bury the original capsule.
Mr MacLeod contacted the Battle of Bannockburn project when an appeal went out for information about the time capsule when it was discovered.
A letter explaining the role of the Grangemouth Dockyard Company has been included in the new time capsule, along with the items recovered from the 1930s, including a 1911 Falkirk coronation medal, a 1924 farthing and a 1928 half crown.
Other contents include contributions from the project contractors, Mansell Construction Services, members of the project’s academic advisory panel, including Dunfermline-born historian Fiona Watson and others with a connection to the project.