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Scotland is scanning the globe to digitally document important heritage sites to ensure they are preserved for the future.
Scotland is scanning the globe to digitally document important heritage sites to ensure they are preserved for the future.
Some of the world’s most important heritage sites are being preserved in 3D for future generations by a team of Scottish experts.
The pioneering Scottish Ten project is using cutting-edge laser scanning technology to digitally record all five of Scotland’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and five other sites round the world, to better conserve and manage them.
Scottish sites already scanned by the team at Historic Scotland and Glasgow School of Art include New Lanark’s 18th century mills and the Island of St Kilda.
The first international site to have been 3D scanned is Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, USA, providing, for the first time, a visual documentation of the historically important monument.
Three other sites in India, China and Japan will be scanned, with work underway to identify a fifth international site.
Scotland's Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:
"The Scottish Ten is a project which is establishing Scotland as world leader in the use of digital documentation technology, innovation and is allowing us the chance to share our knowledge in heritage conservation and preservation while capturing some the world's most important heritage sites."
The project's aim is to promote and celebrate Scotland's cultural heritage at home and abroad and enhance the country's reputation for technological innovation in research and development on the international stage.
Scotland’s heritage sites to be digitally documented:
New Lanark
New Lanark UNESCO world heritage site was the first Scottish location to be digitally scanned by the Scottish Ten project. The historic mill village near Glasgow is set in a stunning valley setting close to the famous Falls of Clyde.
The village of New Lanark was founded in 1785 by David Dale as a purpose built industrial settlement. Cotton-spinning mills, powered by water from the River Clyde and housing for the work force were constructed from locally sourced sandstone. By 1820 it was the largest cotton manufacturing centre in the country. The town became famous as a model community, and is home to the first infant school in the world.
The digital scanning of this site will help in the ongoing conservation of the entire industrial village.
Neolithic Orkney
The Heart of Neolithic Orkney is composed of the chambered tomb of Maeshowe, the Stones of Stenness, the Barnhouse Stone, the Watchstone, the Ring of Bordgar and associated funerary monuments and stone settings and Skara Brae settlement.
The islands have survived more that 5000 years with incredible levels of preservation making The Heart of Neolithic Orkney one of the most impressive prehistoric sites in Europe.
The digital scanning will allow archiving of the monuments and will benefit conservationists, allowing them to identify problems and decay of monuments.
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh knit together an unique architectural history of the city, where the Medieval old town and the Georgian planned new town sit side by side. The world heritage site takes in both parts of the city , encompassing ancient milling settlement on the Water of Leith.
Digital scanning across the UNESCO World Heritage Site will allow preservation of the iconic capital city.
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall was the fifth site in Scotland to be placed on the World Heritage list. The wall was built on the orders of the Emperor Antoninus Pius in the 140s and survived as the north-west frontier of the Roman empire for a generation before being abandoned in the 160s in favour of a return to Hadrian’s Wall.
It stretched for nearly 60km across the narrowest section of Scotland from Bo’ness on the River Forth in the east of Scotland to Old Kilpatrick, situated on the River Clyde on the west of Scotland, and was made up of turf rampart fronted by a great trench.
St Kilda
The St Kilda World Heritage Sites is an archipelago situated over 64km west of the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. In a sheltered bay on the main island of Hirta lie the ruins of the village abandoned in 1930.
Given the remoteness of the archipelago, digital scanning of the site will allow virtual tours and interactive exhibits of the islands cultural heritage.
International sites being scanned:
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, USA
Mount Rushmore is famous the world over for former American presidents carved out of the rock face.
The digital scanning provides, for the first time, a 3D visual documentation of the internationally important monument in South Dakota. The 3D visulaisation will allow development of education tools, helping to provide innovative and interactive public interaction and interpretation.
Rani Ki Vav Stepwell, India
Rani Ki Vav (The Queens Stepwell), is a Royal step well near Patan, Gujurat, India, built between 1022 – 1063. The site lay buried in silt until it was rediscovered in the 1980’s.
The site, which is stilling being excavated, has many unique features rendering it one of the most important step wells in India. By digitally documenting Rani Ki Vav, there is hope to bring this magnificent site to a much wider audience and raise its awareness both locally and internationally.
Suggest an international heritage site that might be numbered among the chosen ten, by adding your comments below.
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People have lived in Scotland since the Mesolithic period, that's 6,600BC.