Marching, measuring and mapping in the Highlands
The Braes of Abernethy survey project is being undertaken by members of the RCAHMS Survey and Recording Group, and aims to conduct an archaeological landscape survey of an area covering some 70 sq km, in the space of just six weeks. Once the photographs, sketches, measurements and notes are collated from the present survey, they will be analysed, catalogued, peer-reviewed and entered into the RCAHMS database, Canmore. This currently has 126 database entries for the Braes of Abernethy area, ranging from Bronze Age burnt mounds (cooking sites) through hut-circles to ruined farmsteadings, and this number is likely to increase by up to 300% once completed.
Dr Tessa Poller is one of the three archaeological investigators on the survey and was recently appointed as the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) Workplace Learning Bursary holder at RCAHMS. The post is being funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund and, as part of her bursary work, Tessa will gain experience in pre-fieldwork planning, take part in six weeks of fieldwork and subsequently be involved with the data processing and inputting of the results into the RCAHMS database. We congratulate Tessa on her appointment and look forward to seeing the outcome of her work as part of the project survey team.