Shetland from the Air

In June 2010, as a part of an ongoing programme to record the archaeology, architecture and landscapes of Scotland from the air, RCAHMS aerial survey team relocated to Tingwall airport near Lerwick. Shetland's remote location presents a real challenge to the aerial surveyor: a final frontier. But a spell of settled weather allowed RCAHMS a rare opportunity to spend two days recording some of the region's magnificent landscapes from above. In part supporting RCAHMS archaeological field survey projects on Shetland, this was also an opportunity to prospect for otherwise unknown sites and record already established archaeological monuments from a unique perspective.

Our Shetland from the Air gallery of images presents some of the highlights from over 700 digital photographs taken during the flights. The results of the full survey are currently being made available through RCAHMS publicly-accessible, online database Canmore.