• Karen Millen
• Herve Leger
• Karen Millen
• Hermes
• Soccer Cleats

Digitising Highland Maps and Plans

This project aims to get as many local maps as possible relating to the Highlands into the public domain, available for researchers, genealogists, clan diaspora, historians and archaeologists and anyone else with an interest in old maps. At the same time, it will provide local landowners and museums with high quality digital copies of their collections.

In 2018 the North of Scotland Archaeology Society led a project to hire a large flat bed scanner, and then volunteers scanned the Lovat Estate maps. The resulting scans were passed back to Lovat Estate who now use the digital maps instead of the paper ones. Importantly, the maps are also available on the National Library of Scotland (NLS) Maps website.

Over the years other estates have suggested that they might be interested if such a scanner could again be made available. This project builds on this interest. ARCH will hire again an A0 flat bed scanner for two weeks. We hope to be able to scan over 500 maps in this period. The NLS will take the resulting images and add them to the NLS maps website.

The scanning will take place at the Highland Archive Centre 17-28 August. A number of estates and museums have already expressed an interest. 

ARCH is looking for volunteers to help with logging the maps as they arrive or with doing the scanning. Perfect for anyone with a love of old maps! If you are interested in helping, email archhighland@googlemail.com.

ARCH is also seeking a project officer to oversee the work during the scanning, and help before and after. Details are in the ARCH website library, in the ARCH Jobs folder. Closing date 26th June.