Friday January 16th 2026
£18,000 drone used for the projects photogrammetry
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
A new project has begun in Edinburgh between the Calton Hill Conservation Trust and Headland Archaeology, seeking to find hidden archaeological history on Calton Hill.
Receiving just under £5000 from the City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Community Grants Fund, the project seeks to gain a better understanding of the historic hill that towers over the city.
The prominence of Calton Hill means it would have been a focus of human activity in the past, yet surprisingly little is known about its ancient and early historic use before the 19th-century ‘Athens of the North’ monuments were built.
The project aims to look at the archaeological potential of the landscape, looking to find indications of human impacts that have shaped the hill’s history.
Beginning yesterday morning, the project began with photogrammetry, which is a non-invasive remote-sensing method that examines the land via drone, for entry into a geographical information system.
This allows for a 3D model to be made that can then be analysed to identify any unique features on the hillside, either geographical or archaeological.
Seeking to find answers of the hill’s history out of both curiosity and belief, Chair of the Calton Hill Conservation Trust, Simon Holledge, reached out to Headland Archaeology where they were then able to secure funding from the council.
Explaining the motivation behind the project, he explained:
“We have done a lot of work in the past on heritage and on biodiversity but what we want to do is to fill in our knowledge of the archaeology of the hill. We also know a lot about the geology from ancient times down to the 18th and 19th century. So we are trying to fill in the gaps.
“Obviously Calton Hill is one of a number of hills in Edinburgh, on other hills there are bronze age and iron age features and discoveries that have been made. I think the idea is that there was probably activity during this period and there’s almost nothing about it.”
Using photogrammetry, Headland Archaeology made a 3D model and an orthomosaic (a flat image without distortion), alongside many photographs, to see if Simon is correct in his belief, alongside using the drone flight to overall gain a wider understanding of the hill.
Technical Service Manager at Headland Archeology and drone pilot on the day, Katie Hutton, explained prior to the drones takeoff:
“We’re going to be producing a series of photographs to produce a photogrammetry, so it’ll be a 3D model of the hillside, including the buildings as well and the landscape around. And with that 3D model, we are hoping to produce an orthomosaic to try and identify any features on the hillside.”
Using a £18,000 drone that has a minimum flight height of 50 meters, the drone flew across Calton Hill in a grid pattern, taking thousands of photos.
With the next steps in the project being community based, the team will be inviting the public to explore the history of the hill to learn about what is already known and develop an understanding of what is yet to discover. This will consist of walks that will explore learnings on the ground, creating an opportunity for people to interact with the hill.
Talking about the up-coming community event, Community Archaeologist at Headland Archaeology, Jessica Lowther, explained:
“We will be hosting a series of workshops for community participants to learn a bit more about those non-invasive surveys, so learning about photogrammetry and learning about how archaeologists do walkover surveys, looking into what might be there.”
Participation for the events is free for both members of the trust and non-members.
These events include:
– Saturday 31 January 10.00, workshop on photogrammetric survey results.(Venue
TBC).
– Saturday 7 February 10.00, Walk and talk on Calton Hill’s archaeology.
– Saturday 21 February 10.00, On-site workshop to explore archaeological walk-
over survey techniques and record any findings
– Saturday 28 February 10.00, Final workshop to summarize results. (Venue TBC).
To see more on the project and the photogrammetry, watch the video below.
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