‘The Rannoch Moor Archaeology Project’ is a collaborative project between researchers at the University of Glasgow, the University of Stanford, University of Strathclyde, Archaeology Scotland and stakeholder bodies.
Rannoch Moor is an iconic Scottish Highland landscape, treasured as a ‘wild land’ by Nature Scot. While crossing the moor many visitors will experience a vast and ‘empty’ landscape, however, there are rich cultural narratives woven into this land which could enrich their experience. This project will explore the use of the Ba River area of Rannoch Moor for settlement, subsistence, hunting and industry from the medieval to early modern period through a programme of excavations, augmenting previous surveys. Through landscape storytelling we will communicate new narratives of communities’ resilience to a changing climate.
This project is a collaboration between Dr Edward Stewart (Archaeology Scotland) and Alexandria Parker-Banks (University of Glasgow). We are also working with:
- Dr Ian MacLellan (University of Strathclyde) – Archivist
- Nicholas Cullen (University of Stanford) – Archaeo-botany specialist
- Sabrina Ross (Independent) – Charcoal specialist
- Meike Van Lit (University of Glasgow) – Elemental analysis specialist
- Derek Hall (Independent) – Pottery specialist
- Dr Effie Photo-Jones (University of Glasgow) – Slag specialist
- Jesper Ericsson (The Hunterian) – Numismatics specialist
We are interested in how this landscape was shaped and reshaped by human interactions with their landscape and environment, and how the management of diverse subsistence, fuel and industrial practices changed over the later medieval and early modern periods, shaping this iconic upland landscape.
We will be running our first season of excavations in October 2026 on Rannoch Moor.
These investigations are guided with the following aims:
1. To establish a chronology for occupation and an understanding of the changing land management practices occurring on Rannoch Moor across the Little Ice Age, through the case study of a settlement and shieling cluster on the River Ba, including grazing, permanent settlement and farming, woodland management, hunting, charcoal and iron production. Within this now ‘empty’ landscape how did past communities develop resilience to a changing climate and unpredictable weather events?
2. To identify and establish the preservation, extent and archaeological value of upland heritage sites within a landscape of active peatland restoration, with the aim of generating a case study for use in policy and planning pertaining to peatland archaeology and restoration (see ALGAO Scotland Peatland Policy).
3. To explore the resilience and environmental entanglement of an upland community in the SW Highlands during the Little Ice Age. How did communities on Rannoch Moor adapt to life in a changing environment? How did these communities’ development relationships with their environments such as soils, plant and animal life, and the waters of this vast bog?
4. To create new interpretation materials exploring human activities within a ‘cryptic cultural landscape’ and presumed ‘wild land’. These resources will be aimed at engaging audiences on the nearby West Highland Way with archaeology as a system of landscape knowledge which can help them appreciate the Scottish Highland landscape in new ways. These resources will also engage visitors with the dynamic and changing nature of the landscape they are passing through and how it has been shaped and reshaped through human environmental interactions.
Photographs (C) Dr Cole Juckette
This research has been funded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, University of Stanford and the Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies at the University of Glasgow. Thanks are owed to Bidwells Land Agents and the Flemming Family of Blackmount Estate.