The Team
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Andrew Powell grew up in Bridge of Allan and graduated with an Honours degree in Archaeology from University College Cardiff. He spent most of his career at Wessex Archaeology. He now lives in Killin and was involved in Scotland’s Rock Art Project where he first became involved in photogrammetry.
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Elaine Black lives in Balquhidder and is a member of an archaeological field survey society. She graduated with Honours degrees in Scottish History & Literature, and Celtic Civilisation & Archaeology, at the University of Glasgow many moons ago, and has a background in journalism and museums. She now works as a Scottish Blue Badge Tour Guide.
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Charlie Hunter lives in Balquhidder. He is a Scottish Blue Badge Tour Guide with a career spanning more than 30 years and often assists visitors with genealogical research at Stirling Archive and elsewhere. He is Treasurer and Elder at Balquhidder Parish Church. It is entirely due to his efforts that the heating works and the roof doesn’t leak.
Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a form of 3-dimensional recording. It involves taking a set of overlapping photographs of an object and converting them into a 3D model (this may require up to 100 digital frames). The model can be zoomed in on, rotated, and lit from different angles, and so produces images that highlight carved details which otherwise might not be seen. As you can see on the image of the Angus Stone in Balquhidder Parish Church, the detail which emerges allows us to see an iconic piece of Balquhidder history like never before. And is that a galley (ship) at the bottom of the cleric’s robe? It is certainly worth further investigation.
Click on the button below to see photogrammetry in action and spin the Angus stone around for a different perspective.
Site Plan
A key first step for the new project will be to conduct a tape survey of the graveyard in order to create an accurate scale plan showing the locations of pre-1800s recumbent grave-slabs (each of which is assigned a number when recorded), as well as their relationship to more recent headstones and memorials. To begin this process BGCP was able to use a partial sketch plan, drawn by Ian Fisher for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in the 1990s.
The new plan will also show locations of grave-slabs in relation to the remains of the Old Kirk, and to the area around it which is legally protected as a scheduled monument (SM). The plan has a site grid aligned to the south wall of the Old Kirk, the coordinates of the Old Kirk’s SW corner being 20.00 m east/24.00 m north. As work progresses, and new grave-slabs are identified and recorded, the plan will be continually updated. Once completed, it will help future researchers to access our information and find individual graves.
Record
Volunteers are key to recording Scotland’s old graveyards and preserving information that is being lost through the passage of time. It is important to use a standard recording form, such as the example opposite.
Preliminary archive reports on individual grave-slabs in Balquhidder graveyard can be found here.
Care must be taken when exposing, cleaning and recording grave-slabs. Where possible, the turf is rolled back. Sometimes it has to be cut and lifted, taking care not to cause any damage to the stones. Moss, lichen and soil can be gently scraped off using wooden or plastic spatulae (craft “lollipop” sticks are best) and surrounding weeds and grass trimmed back with shears. Once exposed, the slab is photographed for the 3D photogrammetry, and other photos are taken to record the slab’s setting in the graveyard and significant details noted, as well as before and after shots to record the impact of the recording work. All sets of photos include a 0.5 m scale and a North arrow.
Site notes are taken on a paper recording form, which gives a slab’s site coordinates, their Balquhidder Graveyard Claymore Project (BGCP) ID, and other identifiers. It includes a sketch plan (and if appropriate a profile), which can be annotated to record the main dimensions, any visible decoration, and the location of any inscription, as well as other features such as prominent cracks, mineral inclusions, etc. There is space for additional notes to be added during recording, and for a digital and photo-record listing photo image ranges. In due course, the information on these forms will be converted into digital form, but the paper forms will remain part of the site archive.
Permissions
Phase 1 of the Balquhidder Graveyard Claymore Project has all the necessary permissions and insurance for the removal (and replacement) of turf in order to proceed with a photogrammetry survey of grave-slabs. The primary permission is from Stirling Council Cemeteries, which maintains the graveyard, and the Clan MacLaren Trust.
Phase 2 will proceed with Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic Environment Scotland | Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba to extend the survey into the scheduled area around the Old Kirk.
The project is supported by the Minister and Kirk Session of Balquhidder Parish Church. BGCP is also grateful for the advice of Murray Cook, Stirling Archaeologist.