24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
An Archaeologist's Tools - A Trowel and... the Internet?
By David Prudames
06/01/2003
Left: this detail from Timothy Pont's original hand-drawn map shows Cromarty with the castle in question on the left. Courtesy, Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.
Once upon a time the tools of the archaeology trade were nothing more than a trusty trowel, the odd geophysical survey and a nose for history, but now there is a major new addition to their armoury… the Internet.
A series of sixteenth century maps published on the National Library of Scotland's website has led to the discovery of the site of a forgotten medieval castle.
David Alston, Curator of the Cromarty Courthouse Museum in the Highlands of Scotland used the online sixteenth century maps, drawn by a certain Timothy Pont (1565-1611), to locate the exact whereabouts of the castle on the Black Isle.
Although the cliff-top site was recorded as 'Castledownie' by the Ordnance Survey in the 1870s archaeologists who visited the site as recently as the 1950s did not believe it was medieval.
Image: the map, drawn in the sixteenth century, clearly shows an enclosed tower at the site.
Right: the map, drawn in the sixteenth century, clearly shows an enclosed tower at the site. Courtesy, Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.
"What I am looking at is the same thing that archaeologists have looked at," explained David Alston.
"There is clearly a rampart around a site and there is a lot of stone about, but given the evidence on the map I think it is likely that this is the site of the medieval castle that was shown on the map. Fairly close to this there are also remains of a farmhouse, all turf-walled buildings which are more unusual but don't have the same romantic cache as the castle."
Mr Alston explained how further evidence of a castle on that site was found in a novel written in the 1850s by James Grant, who later founded The National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, one of the country's first nationalist groups.
The Curator pointed out that this, too, suggests the Internet's increasing role in historical research, as with Grant's fiction long out of print, one of the few places evidence of it can be found is on the World Wide Web.
Image: the map known as [Gordon] 20, is one of 77 surviving manuscripts by Pont.
Left: the map known as [Gordon] 20, is one of 77 surviving manuscripts by Pont. Courtesy, Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.
"Somebody could have found them without the Internet, but it opens up lots of possibilities for local history groups and historians, particularly with the quality of some of the stuff coming online where you can zoom in and out and so on."
Graduating from St Andrews University in 1583, Timothy Pont spent 20 years researching and drawing what are now the earliest surviving detailed maps of Scotland, which can be seen at the National Library in Edinburgh.
Historic maps of Scotland, including those drawn by Timothy Pont can be viewed online at the National Library of Scotland's fantastic website. Click on this link to have a look.
National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EW, Lothian, Scotland
Open: General Reading Room:
Monday - 09.30-20.30
Tuesday - 09.30-20.30
Wednesday - 10.00-20.30
Thursday - 09.30-20.30
Friday - 09.30-20.30
Saturday - 09.30-13.00
Closed: Sunday
Cromarty Courthouse Museum
Church Street, Cromarty, IV11 8XA, Highland, Scotland
Open: April-October
Daily 1000-1700
November-March
Daily 1200-1600
Related Articles
News In Brief - Week Ending June 29 2008
Scotland's First Book Goes On Show To Mark 500 Years Of Printing
News In Brief - Week Ending February 17 2008
20 Years Of Ian Rankin And Rebus At The National Library Of Scotland
News In Brief - Week Ending October 21
National Library Of Scotland Exhibition Brings John Murray Archive To Life
Portrait Of The New Asian Scots At National Library Of Scotland
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Anson Engine Museum Displays The Award Winning JCB Dieselmax
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Mountain Rescue Gear Moves Star Mummy To Leeds' New Museum
Holocaust Survivors Help Imperial War Museum Launch New Holocaust Art Exhibition
Museums Libraries And Archives Get Cultural Olympiad Off To Flyer
Volunteers Looking For Stone Circle Uncover Roman Fort In Cumbria
New Darwin Centre Set To Welcome 2,500 Visitors Per Day
County Durham Launches Peace And Tranquility Week
Disability And Deaf Arts Get A Boost At 2008 DaDaFest International
3,500 Properties Open Doors To Public For Heritage Open Days 2008
British Library Acquires Dering Roll - A Who's Who Of Medieval Arms
The Rolling Stones Tongue And Lips Logo Acquired By The V&A
Nominations Open For Art Fund Prize For Museums And Galleries 2009
Belfast's Ulster Museum On Track For Dramatic New Rooftop Gallery
Brighton Art Gallery Stunned As US Artist Broken Crow Is Deported
Treasures Of National Media Museum To Be Posted On Flickr
Missing Brontë Letter Returns To The Brontë Museum In Haworth
Danish Artists Create Life-Size Walking House For Wysing Arts Centre Near Cambridge
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.