Culloden commended by All Party Group

The ground-breaking archaeological work carried out by conservation charity, the National Trust for Scotland, at Culloden Battlefield and the innovative approach to telling the story of the battle sets the standard that all UK battlefield sites should strive for, according to an influential All Party Parliamentary Group at Westminster.

The ground-breaking archaeological work carried out by conservation charity, the National Trust for Scotland, at Culloden Battlefield and the innovative approach to telling the story of the battle sets the standard that all UK battlefield sites should strive for, according to an influential All Party Parliamentary Group at Westminster.

In a letter to the charity’s Chairman Shonaig Macpherson, Lord Faulkner said that the All Party War Graves and Battlefield Heritage Group were aware of the detailed research, planning and interpretation of the site that had been carried out as part of the Trust’s project to restore the battlefield and build a new visitor centre.

Lord Faulkner, who chairs the All Party Group, said:

“It is the view of the All Party Group that the work carried out at Culloden is at the forefront of battlefield interpretation, and we therefore have hopes that the high standard the Trust has set will be emulated at other sites across the United Kingdom.”

Archaeology was central to the conservation charity’s approach to the £9.5 million project to revamp the battlefield and build a new visitor centre, which officially opened in April 2008.

Indeed, excavations, overseen and co-ordinated by the Trust’s Inverness-based archaeologist Jill Harden, showed the old visitor centre stood on an important strategic location on the battlefield and influenced the location of the new centre.

One of the innovative approaches to archaeology taken by the Trust during the project was to involve local metal detectorists in a systematic survey of the battlefield. Analysis of the finds helped provide a better understanding of exactly where the battle took place. These discoveries influenced the design of the inspiring exhibition at the new visitor centre which aims to dispel some of the myths surrounding the battle.

Robin Turner, the Trust’s Head of Archaeology said:

“Culloden is such an important historic site for Scotland – we had to make sure that we got it right. We invested a great deal of time and expertise, from both within and outwith the Trust, in doing strong research. There is no doubt that Culloden, both the battlefield and the visitor centre, have benefited from that rigorous work. The new visitor centre has already welcomed well over 100,000 visitors since it opened last December, and the feedback has been very positive. This endorsement from Lord Faulkner and his colleagues is high commendation indeed.”