Last week, a fixed wing drone, commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), was deployed over the islands located off the North West coast of Scotland to photograph their terrain.

NTS tasked Geo.Geo, a geospatial technology company, to undertake topographic modelling of the islands. The gathered data will be used to provide information on the shape and extent of the turf and stone structures such as settlement mounds, shielings and hut circles.

Evidence of traditional rig and furrow cultivation strips will also be mapped in detail.

Derek Alexander, head of archaeology at NTS, said: “We’re really excited about this project. We are keen to see the first results of the drone photography and modelling.

“While we already have quite a good map showing the location of the numerous archaeological sites on Canna and Sanday, this new work will provide us with detailed imagery of each of the sites – many of which are defined as low mounds.”

The work was funded by grants from NTS members’ centres in London, Angus, and Argyll.