Scotland's Landscapes - The National Collection of Aerial Photography

Through the National Collection of Aerial Photography, we can journey above Scotland – looking down on islands and mountains, sweeping over undulating lowlands, and tracing an intricate coastline. These are modern landscapes – snapshots of the here and now. But if we look closely enough, we can read histories that are thousands of years in the making. Time and man have left indelible marks, but there is one constant in the life of a landscape – change. The landscapes of today will never be the landscapes of the future. With every passing day, month, decade and century, layers continue to be added and erased from the landscape story of Scotland.

Aerial reconnaissance across all of Scotland’s landscapes has shown itself to be one of the most effective forms of archaeological survey. Not only does it provide fresh perspectives on existing sites, it is also responsible for locating  and identifying many thousands of previously unknown structures and remains. By studying the complex patterns of human intervention left in the landscape, the RCAHMS aerial survey team new can make new, nationally important discoveries at any time.

All the images in this gallery come from RCAHMS new book, Scotland's Landscapes: The National Collection of Aerial Photography (published October 2012). Author James Crawford draws on the finest and most recent photographs taken by the RCAHMS aerial survey team to tell the fascinating stories of how Scotland’s places came to be.