Discover all about the Scottish Ten project

About the Scottish Ten

The project set out in late 2009 to digitally document Scotland’s then five World Heritage Sites and a further five international heritage sites to create accurate 3D data to help with their conservation and management, their interpretation and virtual access.

It was a collaborative project between Historic Environment Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation, with CyArk.

About the Scottish Ten

Sites

The sites digitally documented by the project

Mount Rushmore, USA

New Lanark, Scotland

Neolithic Orkney, Scotland

Rani ki Vav, India

St Kilda, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland

Eastern Qing Tombs, China

Sydney Opera House, Australia

Antonine Wall, Scotland

Nagasaki, Japan

Digital Technologies

Each of the Scottish Ten sites raised its own particular digital documentation challenges, and a wide range of technologies was used to accurately capture data.

Digital technologies

The Team

The team has a unique blend of experience in digital documentation and visualisation technology.

Dr Lyn Wilson

Digital Documentation Manager
Dr Lyn Wilson

Position: Digital Documentation Manager

E: lyn.wilson@hes.scot
Bio

Lyn is responsible for digital documentation and the application of 3D technologies within Historic Environment Scotland. She is also Project Manager for the Scottish Ten and the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation LLP. She has directed collaborative digital documentation projects around the globe. Currently, she is responsible for delivery of the Rae Project, to digitally document the properties in care of HES and many of their associated collections. Lyn is a heritage scientist, with a BSc in Archaeology, MA and PhD in Archaeological Science, and is a certified infrared thermographer. She joined Historic Scotland in 2007 as a Conservation Scientist, having previously worked for Scottish Analytical Services for Art and Archaeology. Lyn is an expert member of CIPA (the International Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage), a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, has several peer-reviewed publications and lectures regularly to international audiences. Her research interests focus on the intersection of heritage science and digital documentation in the historic environment, and the application of emerging technologies for heritage conservation.
Dr David Mitchell

Director
Dr David Mitchell

Position: Director

E: david.mitchell@hes.scot
Bio

David Mitchell’s interest in the developing use of new media and technology within the heritage environment ideally placed him to lead the Scottish Ten project. His academic background is in earth sciences and conservation, with his specialist areas of expertise relate to traditional building materials and industrial heritage. David is Director of the Conservation Directorate at Historic Environment Scotland and his remit covers technical and scientific research and innovation, education, traditional materials and skills, climate change and applied conservation. He is also responsible for the ongoing conservation and maintenance of the 345 properties in Historic Environment Scotland's care. David is also a Director of the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation LLP.
Chris McGregor

Director
Chris McGregor

Position: Director

E: chris.mcgregor@hes.scot
Bio

Architect Chris McGregor has worked for Historic Environment Scotland for a number of years. He has a long-standing interest in the survey and understanding of traditional buildings. Chris is Head of Major Projects at Historic Environment Scotland and a Director of the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation LLP.
Dr Paul Chapman

Director CDDV; Acting Director SSV
Dr Paul Chapman

Position: Director CDDV; Acting Director SSV

E: p.chapman@gsa.ac.uk
Bio

Dr Paul Chapman is the Acting Director of the School of Simulation and Visualisation (SSV) where he has worked since 2009. The DDS is a postgraduate research and commercial centre based in the Digital Media Quarter in Glasgow housing state of the art virtual reality, graphics and sound laboratories. Previously Paul was Director of the Hull Immersive Visualization Centre and spent several years working as an offshore engineer in the oil, gas and diamond mining industries. Paul holds BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Science, he is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. Passionate about technology, Paul applies his experience to real-world problems in numerous disciplines. He has several years of managerial and project management experience and has won numerous awards including the 2009 UK Industry Awards: IT Innovative Project of the Year. Paul is a Director of the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation and has been involved with the Scottish Ten since its inception. Specialties: General and Project management. Computer Graphics, Virtual Reality, Internet Technologies, User Interfaces. Specialist areas: medical, offshore engineering and heritage.
Alastair Rawlinson

Head of Digital Innovation and Learning
Alastair Rawlinson

Position: Head of Digital Innovation and Learning

E: al.rawlinson@hes.scot
Bio

Alastair Rawlinson is Head of Digital Innovation and Learning with Historic Environment Scotland, based at The Engine Shed. He has extensive experience in heritage digital documentation and visualisation, and specialises in the management and delivery of large scale, complex digital documentation projects. Alastair is a product designer, with a B.Sc. (Hons) from Glasgow Caledonian University. He has worked in the 3D visualisation sector since graduation and joined The Glasgow School of Art in 2006, where he embarked on the digital documentation of an entire city to create the ‘Urban Model of Glasgow’, before leading on the Scottish Ten Project for GSA and co-managing the Visualisation team. He joined Historic Environment Scotland in 2017 and is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of technical digital resources to promote and educate audiences on the conservation of the historic environment, and to advance its digital accessibility. He is passionate about 3D technologies and the practical applications of 3D data for the benefit of historic and industrial sites.
Dr Maureen Young

Conservation Scientist
Dr Maureen Young

Position: Conservation Scientist

E: maureen.young@hes.scot
Bio

Conservation Scientist Maureen Young joined Historic Environment Scotland in 2007. She has a BSc in Geology, an MSc in Geochemistry and a PhD in Building Science. Her main fields of interest lie in the investigation and treatment of the deterioration of building stone. Maureen is also a trained infrared thermographer. Built environment research projects in which Maureen has been involved include stone cleaning, biocide and conservation treatments, building stone decay and damp problems. She co-authored Stonecleaning – A Guide for Practitioners and three Technical Advice Notes. Maureen also contributed a chapter to the Natural Stone Institute publication Building with Scottish Stone. She also participates in collaborative research projects providing supervision and access to equipment for research students.
Robbie Nuttall

Senior Architectural Technician
Robbie Nuttall

Position: Senior Architectural Technician

E: robbie.nuttall@hes.scot
Bio

Robbie Nuttall joined the organisation in 1994 as Architectural Technician for Edinburgh Castle, having previously worked for 10 years in private practice. After moving to our North Regional Office in 1996, he was promoted to Senior Architectural Technician in 2005. Robbie’s remit includes providing technical support and advice to prepare for the measured survey of structures and sites for conservation, restoration and recording purposes. He also works on the Rae Project, our ambitious programme to digitally record all 345 sites in the Historic Scotland estate.
Adam Frost

Senior Digital Documentation Officer
Adam Frost

Position: Senior Digital Documentation Officer

E: adam.frost@hes.scot
Bio

Laser scanning surveyor and 3D modeller Adam Frost is focused on the accurate capture and visualisation of cultural heritage. His strong background in archaeology is a major asset to The Glasgow School of Art: he has a BA in Archaeology and an MSc in Archaeological Computing. Adam’s role in the Scottish Ten project has ranged from survey and data capture in the field to the processing and data management of the collected datasets.
Samuel Ramsay

Visualisation Specialist
Samuel Ramsay

Position: Visualisation Specialist

E: s.ramsay@gsa.ac.uk
Bio

Sam’s main role in the Scottish 10 is as a 3D modeller and animator at the School of Simulation and Visualisation, creating photorealistic 3D visualisations based upon the scan data. He has recently worked on other projects creating content for the Bannockburn visitor, training tools for NHS education, and visualisations for the Queensferry crossing. Sam has been involved in the scanning of several Scottish Ten sites usually on the underbelly of large steel structures, and as a result of this has developed a liking for rust.
Mike Brooks

Photographer
Mike Brooks

Position: Photographer

E: mbrooks@circamedia.co.uk
Bio

Photographic Officer Mike Brooks retired from HES in 2013, after more than 30 years’ service. As our in-house videographer, Mike was on hand to document the team at work, filming every Scottish Ten project. He also assisted with surveying the sites, applying his skills in photogrammetry and tilt-shift photography.
Justin Barton

Product Marketing Specialist
Justin Barton

Position: Product Marketing Specialist
Bio

Justin Barton worked with CyArk for nearly seven years to bring the organisation's digital documentation methods to heritage sites across the globe. As Manager of Partnership Development, part of his role was to develop data collection and processing standards. To ensure coverage and accuracy, Justin provided daily data oversight at four of the international Scottish Ten sites and Orkney. Justin left CyArk to join Leica Geosystems in 2014, and we continue to collaborate with him in his role with the High-Definition Surveying marketing team.
Alan Simpson

Technical Conservation Officer
Alan Simpson

Position: Technical Conservation Officer

E: alan.simpson@hes.scot
Bio

Alan Simpson joined HES in 1991, originally using his industrial model making skills to help with structural painting. In 1992, he turned his attention to the task of frame conservation. Alan became responsible for all gilding and heraldry in the Historic Scotland estate in 1996. Laser scanning projects have been part of Alan’s remit since he joined the Digital Documentation team in 2008 as a Technical Conservation Officer and is responsible for all technical equipment.

The Scottish Ten

About the Scottish Ten

Sites

Mount Rushmore, USA

New Lanark, Scotland

Neolithic Orkney, Scotland

Rani ki Vav, India

St Kilda, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland

Eastern Qing Tombs, China

Sydney Opera House, Australia

Antonine Wall, Scotland

Nagasaki, Japan

Digital Technologies

The Team

Dr Lyn Wilson

Dr David Mitchell

Chris McGregor

Dr Paul Chapman

Alastair Rawlinson

Dr Maureen Young

Robbie Nuttall

Adam Frost

Samuel Ramsay

Mike Brooks

Justin Barton

Alan Simpson

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