Climate change could be threatening Scots history

Experts will look at ways to protect heritage sites

Experts will come together next month to decide how to protect some of Scotland’s most historic sites from climate change, including Edinburgh Castle and Orkney’s Skara Brae.

They fear unpredictable weather patterns could have a potentially catastrophic impact on the nation’s heritage and other iconic locations around the world.

Heavy rainfall, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and flooding are just a few of the challenges.

At the inaugural Global Challenges in Cultural Heritage Conference at Stirling University over September 1-2 they will discuss how to save the world’s history from devastation.

Significant concerns have already been raised about national sites, with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) assessing 352 and reporting 53% were “at risk”.

In a report published in January, HES warned: “Scotland’s climate is changing.

“The last century has been characterised by overall warming, with altered precipitation patterns leading to wetter winters, drier summers and increased frequency of extreme and unpredictable weather.

“These altered precipitation patterns and increased frequency of extreme and unpredictable weather events impose additional stresses on buildings that could not have been foreseen during the construction.”

Other sites already under serious threat are said to include the Links of Noltland – a Neolithic village in Orkney – and Fort George near Inverness. Each of these is faced by rising sea levels and erosion.

Professor Richard Oram, dean of Stirling University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, said: “While local circumstances may vary, there are opportunities to share knowledge and experiences and to collaborate in finding solutions to these global problems.”

Picture: Getty. Skara Brae on Orkney is one of the historic sites in Scotland that could be threatened by climate change.