Archaeologists and experts in computer graphics are to unite to create a virtual reality tour of Culloden Moor as it would have appeared to the thousands who lined up to fight on the day of the battle in 1746.



The latest archaeological research has exposed many long-held assumptions about the battlefield as little more than Victorian myths invented by previous landowners.



It has also revealed that the battlefield does not lie exactly within the boundaries of the present National Trust site, but also extends farther to the south.



The new computer-generated image of the battlefield will take in these fresh discoveries to give as authentic a picture as possible about the events of 16th April, 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite forces faced the Government troops at Culloden for the final battle in his campaign to seize the crowns of Scotland and England.



The computer image will allow members of the public to see the site as it appears today superimposed upon the moor as it was on the day of the battle. This will show that today’s Culloden site is much smaller than the actual venue of the clash 257 years ago.



Users will be able to zoom in on various parts of Culloden Moor to see how the Government troops were able to outflank the Jacobite forces or where the survivors were coralled by Cumberland’s men to be tortured and then burned alive.



Initially, the new virtual map will be accessible through computer terminals at the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre at Culloden, but there are also plans to make the virtual battlefield tour available on a CD rom and over the internet.



Much of the information which will be used to draw up the new battlefield map relies on the work of Dr Tony Pollard of Glasgow University, one of Britain’s foremost battlefield archaeologists.



Dr Pollard and his team visited Culloden to discover the exact boundaries of the battlefield and to pinpoint the locations of some key charges and battle formations.



The visit was arranged in conjunction with the “Two Men In A Trench” television programme about archaeology which Dr Pollard presents with Neil Oliver.



He claims that the site identified by the National Trust as the Red Barn, where some of the most barbaric events of the day were said to have been committed, is merely a Victorian cabbage patch.



Dr Pollard explained the results of his excavations on the site. “The results were dramatic but not as we expected,” he said. “We found evidence of a 19th century vegetable patch but no sign of a building or any burning.”



Working with teams of students, professional archaeologists and a metal detector team from the Highland Historical Search Society, Dr Pollard has been able to uncover hundreds of artefacts from the battle and has used these to map out the events of fateful day more accurately than those who have relied solely on local hearsay.



Now that he has a clear idea of the exact locations of some of the battle day’s key skirmishes, he has also enlisted the help of an expert in computer animation to produce a computer generated view of the battlefield.



News of the project was revealed in Inverness when Dr Pollard delivered one or the keynote lectures of Highland Archaeology Week.



He said that many of the mistakes in the layout of the present National Trust site come from old maps of the battle which were laid out wrongly.



“The entire battlefield has to be shifted southwards and it was a lot bigger than you are now led to believe today,” he revealed. “The Jacobite line is roughly in the right place but the mistakes in the old maps have caused people to mark some of the other key sites in the wrong place.”



He has called upon the help of Michael Athanson, an expert in computer animation, to show the modern landscape, the landscape on the day of the battle and the locations of all the finds.



Dr Pollard said: “The great advantage of the virtual map is that it allows us to show the finds in the context of the landscape they came from because one means nothing without the other. Apart from reburying all the artefacts and digging them up each day, there is no other way of doing this.”



The computer view will feature pop-up windows showing the locations of particular clans, the names of those who are known to have been killed or captured, animations of key troop movements and detailed pictures of key figures in the battle, such as Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Duke of Cumberland.



The Inverness Courier, 24 October 2003

The "Two men in a trench "series has already been seen over here..bit dumbed down for T.V...book of the series is better..New series will include Bannockburn,Edgehill,Sedgemoor,&Killiekrankie....I think Isandhlwana is someone else..we've been a bit spoilt for these things recently with the above & "Battlefield detectives" & a one-off on the "Real" Zulu............The Pollard work has nothing really new to those already interested....most of their points have been previously made by Stuart Reid from Historical evidence, but if they can correct misconceptions for the general public, it's worth doing.
Steve

I think that would be fantastic...would it happen? i dont know..

Something similiar to the work done at Towton would be nice where a mass grave was found..but I must admit I have emotional problems with work at Culloden..completely illogical as I've devoured accounts of other battlefield excavations..maybe just the feelings generated when we laid wreaths there a couple of years ago..my pressed heather is still a proud possesion..Oh,well, never claimed to make sense all the time!
Steve

Much like  when they did the DNA testing on the the unknown from the veiman era..I'm sure it would turn some heads...Sure they were able to idenfy the Guy givubg the family closer after 30 some odd years..But some where in the emotions of the whole event I guess alot of people relised  what He and the other unknowns that are burried there with him repersent...All the Boys who didnt come home
that have no graves for them selves...

I think you might run into the same kind of  feeling if they did a dig on the mass graves at Culloden...not for the concreat information you would get from it...But a Cutral Mytholgy that grew out of the 45...those are not just GRaves of Men that is the Grave of a Culture...(ohhhh I think i just made Stuat Ried puke someplace)

Ohh sure and im sure that it would be done with the utmost respect ect ect ect....but im just saying there could be a huge backlash...go fig

OK, I'm a real novice here so you'll have to excuse me.
I've been to Culloden only once, I plan to again soon. I have also seen the 'Two Men in a Trench' episode on BBC2.
Should the graves be dug up? That is a tough question and I'm in two minds over it.
My family lost 2 members (brothers) in WWI. We know that one had died of a head wound within minutes of being hit (Sanctuary Wood, Ypres, Belgium) because one of his mates told our family.
His younger brother was killed in action as well, but we don't know how.
But as much as I'd love to find out exactly what killed my great uncles I wouldn't be comfortable with the exhumation of their bodies.
How many years have to go by before exhumations are acceptable? I don't have the answer to that one.
Would it be acceptable if the bodies were removed, examined and re-buried in their original graves with a proper Christian service, which I doubt they were afforded in '46?

If they ever dug up the graves at Culloden the consequences would be for ever lasting. Many people visit the site and are moved by what they find there, and yet if they didn’t know about the battle they would most likely think it just another piece of Scotland. So the attachment is to the event rather that it’s geographic position or outstanding beauty. The site is that of the last battle on British soil between British people. It kick started the end of a culture that was only re-fertilised by the Victorians (it never went away), this to many creates an ache in an old wound.
Do we really need to know how these people died? As the dead are not in the place they fell it could only give us percentages of differing types of wound. It is unlikely the dead were buried with any sort of personal positions (thank fully or the site would have been dug up by treasure seekers by now), so the amount of information gained would be limited.
In GB the protests when a new road is to be built through an area of ancient woodland are serious and energetic. Imagine what would happen if some one suggested an opening of the graves at Culloden?
I think it is fair to say it’s not going to happen, and for that I am grateful.