History of Aberdeen goes online
15/08/07
Whether you’re interested in unusual artefacts discovered at ancient burial grounds, hauls of medieval coins or even urban standing stones - Aberdeen’s fascinating history is now available at the click of a mouse.
Aberdeen City Council’s Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) holds details of more than 3,000 archaeological and historic sites, ranging from 8000 BC to the 1960s.
Now these exciting slices of the Granite City’s rich history can be viewed online.
The first records will go live on Friday [17 Aug] with information on each site, along with photographs, drawings, maps and even satellite images.
More than 700 records are available to surfers, who can search by site type, historical period, parish and map reference.
Specialists at Aberdeen City Council’s Archaeology Unit have painstakingly catalogued artefacts, excavations and monuments to create a searchable database of the city’s past.
This will provide up-to-date information to a worldwide audience as well as offering an invaluable resource for schools, community groups, local history enthusiasts and tourists.
Aberdeen City Council Keeper of Archaeology Judith Stones said: "This will appeal to Aberdeen’s many local history buffs, while others may be astonished to discover how fascinating is the story of that street they walk down every day on the way to work.
"The sites on the SMR include everything from prehistoric stone circles, through evidence of Aberdeen’s superb medieval archaeology, to monuments of the railway age and of World War II. There is truly something for everyone."
The project, entitled Aberdeen’s Past On-Line, has received funding from Historic Scotland and Energising Aberdeen – the City Growth Fund.
The records can be accessed by logging on to http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/smr.asp.
The most recent historic spot to be featured on the website is Seaton Pottery, which closed in 1964.
Ninety-year-old James Ritchie - a direct descendant of the James Ritchie, who was one the founders of the pottery in the 1860s - will help launch the SMR along with his daughter, Rosemary McKenzie.
Seaton Pottery, often described as Scotland’s most northerly industrial pottery, flourished for almost 100 years off School Road, creating distinctive and highly decorative wares, many of which survive in North-east households and the collections of Aberdeen Art Gallery and museums. Part of the site was excavated by the City Council Archaeology Unit in 2002 and 2003.
