Skara Brae was previously the oldest

Stone tools and discarded hazelnut shells are among 3,000 artefacts discovered at the site.

Previous excavations at Cramond have uncovered a Medieval village and a Roman Fort including the sculpture of a lioness, but archaeologists says this latest discovery is the most exciting because it dates back to just after the last ice age.

Edinburgh City Council said the find makes Cramond an area of exceptional historic interest.

It is hoped artefacts from the excavation can be put on public display later this year.

Skara Brae, on Orkney, was previously considered to have been the oldest Scottish site.

Then, in September last year, archaeologists found a farm near Cleave Dyke in Perthshire which was thought to have been 6,000 years old - up to 1,500 years older than the World Heritage Orkney site.