National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000
The Outer Hebrides boast archaeological sites of local, national and international significance. Many sites on Barra and Harris are well documented but despite their importance, most remain inaccessible and poorly understood with little on-site interpretation.
Barra and Harris Unearthed will create low impact, high quality, bilingual on-site interpretation, available for free via a mobile app. Six sites – ranging from Mesolithic settlements to a 20th century whaling station – will be reconstructed using augmented reality (AR) technology.
The app will use text, interactive maps, 3D models, audio and animation to further explore the relationships between people and landscape over centuries of history. A multimedia travelling exhibition will bring these stories to wider audiences.
The work builds on learnings from the university’s Uist Virtual Archaeology Project. A collaborative effort between the university and the local community, it has been credited with boosting visitor numbers to archaeological sites in the area. The award-winning Uist Unearthed app – which uses the same technology to bring to life five archaeological sites along the Hebridean Way – has been downloaded over 7,800 times since launching in 2021.
This shared mission of public engagement continues with the overlooked marvels of Barra and Harris.
Find out more about Uist Unearthed or explore the impact of our funding across Scotland.
