The Plan and the Porcupine: Dynamism and Complexity in the Landscape of St Kilda

A 19th-century plan of St Kilda’s principal settlement, created during HMS Porcupine’s bathymetric survey, reveals the archipelago’s landscape as dynamic and complex, contradicting popular narratives about Hebridean life. The study contextualizes this plan within naval interests in archaeology and ethnography, distinguishing it from contemporary estate surveys. By analyzing the plan alongside family history and archaeological evidence, researchers argue that St Kilda’s landscape was far more fluid than previously understood, challenging simplistic views of its agricultural and architectural development.

Geddes, G., & Grant, K. (2015). The Plan and the Porcupine: Dynamism and Complexity in the Landscape of St Kilda. Landscapes, 16(2), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.1179/1466203515z.00000000048