Identifying Archaeology
Archaeology Scotland Rural Guides
These Archaeology Scotland resources have been designed to help land managers identify and manage archaeological sites and historic landscapes in Scotland. There are four categories Rural Advice Notes, Identification Guides,Management Guides and Case Studies.
Rural Advice Notes
These can be printed out and saved for future reference or passed on to Land Managers who do not have access to the internet. Each note lists reasons on the first page why certain issues or features are of archaeological interest or concern. The second page gives examples of good practice and sources of more detailed information.
1. Archaeology & Cross Compliance
6. Archaeology & Good Rural Practice
7. Buffer Zones
Management issues
10. Arable Land
11. Pasture & Stock
12. Wetlands
13. Moorland
14. Machair & Dunes
Managing site types
15. Cropmarks
16. Dykes
18. Trees & Hedges
21. Old Gateways
22. Farm Buildings
24. Wartime sites
25. Mines & Industry
Management needs
26. Drainage
27. Fencing
28. Scrub control
29. Bracken
30. Rabbits & other burrowing animals
31. Tracks
32. Access & signs
Other issues
Identification Guides
Identifying & Managing Cropmark sites : A 12 page guide explaining why it is important to remove cropmark sites from cultivation.
Identifying Archaeological Features within Scotland's Historic Landscapes (download in sections 1 , 2 & 3):
A 70 page pictorial guide on recognising the physical and other archaeological features that survive in the Scottish countryside.(Note this document has been compressed for web display. Please contact us if you require a higher resolution version of this guide.)
Identifying the historic environment in Scotland's forests and woodlands: A 36 page practice guide produced in conjunction with Forestry Commission Scotland and available as a printed document as well as a downloadable pdf.
Management Studies
Managing Archaeological Sites in Arable Systems: A study of the management implications involved in removing a cropmark site from cultivation
Managing Archaeological Sites in Arable Systems 2: A costed study of another management study examining the issues and implications in removing a major cropmark site from cultivation
Case Studies
The Case Study series is designed to show how archaeological and historical features survive on different land types and under different management regimes. These should be used to inform management decisions.
Case Study 1 Kinbeachie Farm, Black Isle: An Arable Farm with buried archaeology. A farm with cropmark remains showing the sensitivity of these features to changes in cultivation.
Case Study 2 Gaskbeg Farm, Laggan: An upland farm. A mixed stock farm in the highlands showing a range of different archaeological features.
Case Study 3 Airigh Bige, Tongue: Discovering archaeology in moorland. Apparent blank moorland with archaeology surveyed for a forestry scheme.
Case Study 4 Kilmartin Glen, Argyll: Access and interpretation. A major historic landscape with important individual sites displayed for visitors raising access & interpretation issues.
Case Study 5 Morvich Farm, Rogart, Sutherland: Regenerating woodland in a historic landscape A study of the sometimes conflicting aspirations of archaeologists, owners and nature conservationists and the need for mutual understanding.
Case Study 6 Rassal NNR, Wester Ross: Nature conservation management in a historic landscape. A major nature conservation site showing the importance of studying the historic context in making management decisions.
Case Study 7 Rahoy Oak Woodland, Morvern: Woodland as a historical record. A site showing how the woodland itself can be a historical record.
(last revised 14th March 2012)
