Archaeologists say they have uncovered a precious hoard of bronze ornaments that were buried for safekeeping almost 3,000 years ago.
Nine neatly-packed items, including six bracelets, were unearthed along with evidence of several Bronze Age houses at a building site in Rosemarkie, a small village on the Moray Firth.
Archaeologists said analysis suggested the hoard's original owners had only intended to keep the items hidden temporarily.
Rachel Buckley, of Guard Archaeology, which made the discovery, said: "The mystery then is not so much why this hoard was buried, but why the time never came for the Rosemarkie Bronze Age community to retrieve their valuable belongings."