A small village or hamlet, especially in Scotland or Ireland, typically built around a church or in a remote area.
From Scottish Gaelic 'clachan,' derived from 'clach' (stone), originally meaning a place of stones or a stone settlement. This reflects how Celtic communities built around natural stone formations.
The clachan represents a crucial moment in how humans organized settlements—these small religious communities became the seeds of later villages. You can still visit clachans in the Scottish Highlands today!
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