Scotland’s Rock Art Project (ScRAP) ran between 2017 and 2021 working with communities across Scotland, and in the South West Scotland region, to investigate and record prehistoric carvings or ‘rock art’. The ScRAP website includes information about rock art, guidance on recording and a searchable database for Scottish rock art sites. Where sites were validated by the project there will be new information and, usually, a 3D model of the rock art.
The Scottish Palaeoecological Archive Database (SPAD) provides information on sites in Scotland where the natural archives of peat bogs, mires and lochs preserve evidence of past environments and environmental change. The University of Edinburgh and Historic Scotland are jointly involved in the development of the database as a national resource that includes many sites in the South West Scotland region, that can be searched online.
The Scottish Wetlands Archaeological Database (SPAD) provides a focused dataset of archaeological information about wetlands in Scotland, including the South West Scotland region. The development of the database reflects both the importance of wetlands as rich and diverse repositories of archaeological information as well as the threatened character of the habitat. The database can be searched online.
The Atlas of Hillforts launched in 2017 details all known hillforts in Britain and Ireland, collated over five years from existing records by a team of researchers. Hillforts were central to more than 1,500 years of ancient living: with numerous functions – some of which are yet to be fully uncovered. The research shows that not all hillforts are on hills; nor are they all forts. Excavated evidence shows that many hillforts were first and foremost used as regional gathering points for trading and festivals, and some hillforts are located on low-lying land.
The Defence of Britain Project (DoB) sought to record the 20th century militarised landscape of the United Kingdom, and to inform the responsible heritage agencies at both local and national level with a view to the future preservation of surviving structures. Running from 1995 to 2002 the project. The information from this project has been integrated into the Historic Environment Records, with the project archive available within the ADS.
Scotland’s Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry is a self-funded national database that is collating the known brickmark details from te brick industry in Scotland. The database is then available for educational and research purposes.