World Heritage Sites in Scotland - Existing Sites

Existing Sites

St Kilda Edinburgh Antonine Wall Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Sites in Scotland

St. Kilda is a small, out-lying archipelago of Hebridean islands which was inscribed as a "natural" site in 1986. In 2004, the site was extended to include a large amount of the surrounding marine features as well as the islands themselves. In July 2005 it became one of the few World Heritage Sites to hold joint status for its natural and cultural qualities. The islands were bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland in 1957. They are also a Biosphere Reserve and a National Scenic Area.

"Edinburgh Old and New Towns" were together inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The former includes the medieval Royal Mile which runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and is bordered to the north by the neo-classical 18th century "New Town" which includes Princes Street. It is managed by the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust.

"The Heart of Neolithic Orkney" includes Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness and other nearby sites. It was inscribed in 1999 and is managed by Historic Scotland.

New Lanark was inscribed in 2001. It is a restored 18th century industrial cotton mill village in South Lanarkshire constructed by Robert Owen as an experiment in utopian socialism. Restoration was organised by the New Lanark Conservation Trust, which was formed in 1974.

The Antonine Wall was inscribed in July 2008. It is an extension to a wider series of sites in Austria, Germany and Slovakia entitled "Frontiers of the Roman Empire". The Wall is the remains of a defensive line made of turf c. 20 feet high, with nineteen forts. It was constructed after 139 AD and extended for 37 miles between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. The wall was overrun and abandoned soon after 160 AD, then occupied again for a brief period after 197 AD.

Commenting on World Heritage Day in 2008, Linda Fabiani the then Scottish Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture stated: "We can... take the opportunity to reflect upon the contribution of our own World Heritage sites and their place in the global story of humanity. We can celebrate, with justified pride, Scotland's contribution".

A year later the then Culture Minister Mike Russell MSP announced at Mount Rushmore in the USA that Historic Scotland have launched a project called "The Scottish Ten". This will use laser scanners to create digital models of Scotland’s five World Heritage Sites and for another five sites elsewhere, including the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The aim is to use the digital imagery to aid in the "conservation, maintenance and management of these globally important sites". The amount of data stored will be significant. Similar work recently done on Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh resulted in the storage of terabytes of data, the scans being made up of 8 billion individual points. This information will be held on special secure servers and a budget of £1.5 million has been allocated to the project.

Also in 2009, the Clydesdale Bank commemorated Scotland's sites on the reverses of a new series of banknotes: an image based on a historical photograph of St Kilda residents appeared on the £5 notes; of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh on the £10 notes; of New Lanark on the £20 notes; of the Antonine Wall on the £50 notes; and of Neolithic Orkney on the £100 notes.