Category: Research
Why Model? Digital Archaeology in Glencoe
In 2025, as in previous seasons, we again employed some targeted 3D photogrammetric capture for the excavation team. In collaboration with Eddie and Derek in the early season we created a series of 3D models of the major open trenches which display their progress through the excavation. This year at Glencoe there were three areas…
Glencoe 26/06/25
Within the legendary and imposing landscapes of Glencoe it is easy to miss the stories told by simply looking down at the land beneath your feet. Day 1 of survey taught us that observations of the smaller things are the building blocks of archaeology. For example a lot is revealed by plants within the landscape.…
In the lab: the story continues away from the field
Over the past few months our team had been hard at work preparing for our 2025 season, and processing the materials from our 2024 season. Over the last few weeks I have been processing the soil samples from our 2024 seasons excavation of a 17th c. house, 18th c. house, kailyard and platform. After subsampling…
THE Award news
I was very excited last week to travel down to Birmingham on behalf of our project team to attend the Times Higher Education Awards ceremony where we were nominated for Research Project of the Year: Arts and Humanities. This nomination was for our work on the Summerhouse of MacIain excavations and the dissemination of the…
Scotlands Archaeology Strategy
Our project featured in this years Scotlands Archaeology Strategy magazine ‘Celebrating archaeology in Scotland 2024’ – accessible here. We were mentioned in both the ‘Innovation and Skills’ aim report, and article by Dr Edward Stewart and Lizzie Robertson on our 2023 and 2024 field schools pedagogy, and in the report on this summers ‘Scotland Digs’…
Gaming in the Glen
Among the assemblages recovered from the Summerhouse of MacIain in 2023, two small fragments of a slate board give us tantilising clues into how the MacDonald chiefs and their guests spent their evenings. These slate fragments scratched with a checked pattern tell us that those entertained by the chief in Gleann Leac-na-Muidhe would have played…
A “Peopleless Paradise”?
The linked article by Edward Stewart explores the role of archaeology in current debates around the future of Scotland’s Highland landscapes in relation to the current Climate Crisis.
Glencoe Field School 2024
In February Lizzie Robertson and I spent a week in Glencoe scoping out features and sites to excavate as part of our 2024 Glencoe field school (#Glencoe2024) as well areas of the landscape where survey would add to our understandings of land use in the glens post-medieval past. With the construction of the first stretch…
Find Study: The Pipes
A fascinating assemblage of clay pipe fragments were uncovered over the course of our excavations in Gleann Leac-na-Muidhe in 2023 spanning the 17th-19th centuries. This blog post will explore a few that tells us exciting insights into those who would have spent time at the ‘summerhouse’ both in the 17th century during its use as…
Field School 2023: 3D Models and Reconstructions
Since the fieldwork season finished in August we’ve been hard at work preparing illustrations, processing our finds and samples and planning what our next season of fieldwork might look like. We’ve also been working with Robert Ferro, a University of Glasgow Undergraduate, to produce 3D printed models of our excavations areas, and we hope sometime…