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Rosal revealed

Until 1814, Rosal was a thriving Highland community. Little did the residents know that the owner of the land Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland was going to make big changes.

Elizabeth was more interested in maximising profit than maintaining the traditional way of life of her tenants. The residents of Rosal were forced to leave to make way for large scale sheep farming.

Rosal’s legacy

After these 'Highland clearances', Rosal remained virtually untouched. In 1962 an archaeologist called Horace Fairhurst carried out an excavation at the site. He recorded seventy structures, including long-houses, barns, outhouses, stackyards and corn-drying kilns.

More recently, impressive new technology has allowed us to discover more about Rosal. Flying over the site with an aerial laser scanner (ALS or LiDAR) has collected huge amounts of data and revealed features which can be very hard to spot onsite.

What is aerial laser scanning?

Aerial laser scanning uses a dense patchwork of individual laser points to measure the ground. The data from these is used as the basis for incredibly detailed images, showing features not visible to the naked eye. Can you see the low earthworks of a building in this image? It measures about 10 metres in overall length. You can also see some trees in the background.

Laser scan showing a patchwork of points.

Uncovering the past

This aerial plan, created using ALS data, shows the topography of the site and gives us a glimpse into how the land was used by those who lived there. The low earthworks and the tumbled walls of the buildings and enclosures are all visible. Some of the most obvious features are the areas of rig and furrow where crops were grown.

Aerial view of a laser scanned Rosal township, annotated with geographic location data.

A bird's eye view of Rosal

Exploring the 3D surface model allows an even clearer view of how the village was laid out. The low earthworks and tumbled walls of longhouses, enclosures and rig-and-furrow cultivation can all be seen within this 3D image. This image (and the plan above) were both used as part of the visitor orientation panels.

Aerial view of laser scanned Rosal township annotated with locations of former buildings.

Visit the township

If you're ever in the far north of Scotland, why not visit Rosal?

You'll have the opportunity to explore the township. You'll also able to hear recordings of a first hand account of the evictions as well as view larger versions of the images show above.

How to get to Rosal Township