Lording it up: how Scottish chiefs lived 600 years ago
● Virtual reality brings isles seat of power back to life
Mo dern- day S cots can now explore inside the grand medieval home of the Lords of the Isles for the first time, via a new virtual reconstruction of the long-vanished settlement.
Experts at the University of St Andrews have used computer gaming technology to digitally resurrect the ancient buildings, which stood on islands in Loch Finlaggan on Islay.
The reconstruction shows Finlaggan in the early 15th century, when it was the administrative and ceremonial centre of the Lordship of the Isles.
The project has been brought to life by the university’s Open Virtual Worlds Team and spinoff firm Smart History, in collaboration with the local Finlaggan Trust.
The visualisation is based on major archaeological work by the National Museum of Scotland, led by Dr David Caldwell.
Documentary research and comparison with other late - medieval sites was used to ensure accuracy.
“Finlaggan was an amazing place to re create digitally ,” said University of St Andrews computer scientist and historian Dr Bess Rhodes.
“Even today the islands of Eilean Mor and Eilean na Comhairle are beautiful places, and in the Middle Ages they were the site of a remarkable complex of buildings which blended local traditions with wider European trends.”
She said the archaeological findings had “transformed” understanding of the site and offered a glimpse of the relative comfort in which the Lords of the Isles and their followers lived. During the Middle Ages the Lords of the Isles ruled the Hebrides and parts of mainland Scotland and Ulster in Ireland. Traditionally the Lordship was held by the Macdonald family.
However, disputes in the 15th century prompted attempts by Scottish kings to cur tail the clan’s influence. James IV sent a military expedition to sack Finlaggan in the 1490s, leaving many of the buildings in ruins.
The reconstruction shows what it may have looked like in its glory days, when it was the seat of the Council of the Lords of the Isles and held inauguration ceremonies for the chiefs.
“Despite its impact on the shaping of Scottish culture, Fin lag ga na nd the Lordship remains little-known to many ,” said Dr Ray Laffer ty, secretary of Finlaggan Trust.
“With this virtual-reality reconstruction we hope to give some sense of the site at the zenith of its power.”
The tech will be on offer as an interactive experience at Finlaggan visitor centre on Islay.