Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T14:47:42.236Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The past surveyed tomorrow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

J.B. Stevenson*
Affiliation:
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, John Sinclair House, 16 Bernard Terrace, Edinburgh EH8 9NX, Scotland. jacks@rcahms.gov.uk

Extract

The last 25 years has been a period of rapid change in the approach to archaeological fieldwork in Britain and this has been reflected in the development of survey within the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the government financed body responsible for maintaining the national record of archaeology and architecture. The monolithic county-based inventory approach of RCAHMS' first 60 years has been replaced by a more broadly-based archaeological strategy founded on programmes of work that range from national overviews and regional surveys to individual site plans. Archaeological mapping has superseded monument planning as the key field objective, and all survey, whether terrestrial, aerial or desk-based, is underpinned by the RCAHMS Geographical Information System (GIs). The radical changes in field data-capture have been mirrored by parallel developments in making that data accessible once it has been collected.

Type
Special section: Scotland 2002
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barclay, G.J. 2000a. The Neolithic of Tayside — a landscape revealed, in Dust, dirt and development: 50 years of Perthshire archaeology: 525. Perth: Perthshire Society of Natural Science.Google Scholar
Barclay, G.J. 2000b. Between Orkney and Wessex: the search for the regional Neolithics of Britain, in Rilchiu, A. (od.), Neolithic Orkney in its European context; 275–85. Cambridge: McDonald Institute.Google Scholar
Cowley, D.C. Forthcoming. A case study in the analysis of patterns of aerial reconnaissance in a lowland area of south-west Scotland, in Archaeological Prospection, Proceedings of Ihe Archaeological Prospection Conference, Vienna, Sept 2001.Google Scholar
Cowley, D.C. & Brophy, K. 2001. The impact of aerial photography across the lowlands of south-west Scotland, Transactions of the Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society (3rd series) 75: 4772.Google Scholar
Dunbar, J.G. 1992. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: the first eighty years, Transactions ofthe Ancient Monuments Society 36:1377.Google Scholar
Dyson Bruce, L., Dixon, P.J Hingley, R. & Stevenson, J. 1999. Historic Landuse Assessment (HLA): development and potential of a technique for assessing historic landuse patterns. Edinburgh: Historic Scotland/RCAHMS.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 1998. Cornwall’s Historic Landscape: presenting a method of Historic Landscape Assessment. Truro: Cornwall Archaeological Unit/English Heritage.Google Scholar
Herring, P. RCAHMS. 1978. Lanarkshire: Prehistoric and Roman Monuments. Edinburgh: HMSO.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 1980. The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Berwickshire District, Borders Region. Edinburgh: RCAHMS.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 1990. North-east Perth: an archaeological landscape. Edinburgh: HMSO.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 1992. Argyll. An Inventory of the Monuments 7, Mid Argyll and Cowal, Medieval and Later Monuments. Edinburgh: HMSO.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 1994. South-east Perth: an archaeological landscape. Edinburgh: HMSO.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 1997. Eastern Dumfriesshire: an archaeological landscape. Edinburgh: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Herring, P. 2001. ’Weil Shelterd and Watered’: Menstrie Glen, a fanning landscape near Stirling. Edinburgh: RCAHMS.Google Scholar
Herring, P. Forthcoming. Strathdon, Aberdeenshire: an archaeological landscape.Google Scholar
RCAHMS/HISTORIC SCOTLAND. 2000. The historic landscape of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. Edinburgh: RCAHMS/HS.Google Scholar
RCAHMS/HISTORIC SCOTLAND. 2001. The historic landscape of the Cairngorms. Edinburgh: RCAHMS/HS.Google Scholar