Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, March 2008 Newsletter
[ ←back ]
Mapping the Edge of the World — RCAHMS Return to St Kilda
RCAHMS are planning two summer expeditions to map the archaeology of the remotest part of the British Isles.
Situated 41 miles to the west of Benbecula in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, St Kilda is the only location in the UK to hold dual UNESCO World Heritage Status for both its environment and culture. After a long human history infused with tragedy, the islands were evacuated on August 29, 1930, the remaining 36 people carrying furniture on their backs to the pier as they left their homes — and Europe's last hunter-gatherer community — behind forever.
In a three-year partnership project with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), RCAHMS are using the most advanced modern surveying techniques to produce the first ever comprehensive map of all the surviving archaeological sites on the archipelago.
The process began in 2007, with two visits to Hirta — the first time RCAHMS had set foot on the island since studying the former main settlement of Village Bay in the 1980s. The teams, each comprising a surveyor and an archaeologist, along with an NTS archaeologist, recorded hundreds of cleits — stone-built structures used for storing food and fuel — producing monitoring photos and condition reports.
This year's expeditions will take place from the 4th to 16th May, and the 31st August to 12th September. Using the latest GPS technology, RCAHMS will work towards completing the mapping of Hirta, concentrating on the boulder slopes of Carn Mor, the summit and eastern coastal slopes of Oiseval, the southern slopes of Conachair and the western side of Gleann Mor. The survey will continue on the islands of Dun, Boreray and Soay in 2009.
The finished project will provide the NTS with an extensive and accurate record of St Kilda's archaeology, essential in ensuring the conservation of one of Scotland's most evocative and outstanding natural and cultural heritage sites.
Mapping the edge of the world
Village Bay on the island of Hirta, St Kilda
Recording cleits, the stone-built structures used for storing food and fuel.
Mist cloaks the mountains of the island of Hirta, the former main settlement in the St Kildan archipelago. SC722682