Abernethy - 1072

In 1072 the small Scottish village of Abernethy was the site of a meeting between the King of Scots, Malcolm Canmore, and William of Normandy (who had recently conquered England). In a show of force William brought a fleet of ships up the River Tay, and Malcolm made an oath of loyalty to the English ruler. Exactly what Malcolm believed he was promising is still debated by historians. At this time Abernethy was an important religious centre, and home to a community of Culdees or Céli Dé (which means ‘client of God’ in Gaelic). The Culdees were Christian holy men who followed a form of religious life developed in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages. Today Abernethy is famous for its tall early medieval round tower – an extraordinary survival from the time of the Culdees. There is only one other tower of this type in Scotland (at Brechin Cathedral), although they are more common in Ireland. The tower probably served as a bell tower and treasury. Researchers from the University of St Andrews’ Open Virtual Worlds team and Smart History collaborated with the Tay Landscape Partnership and Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust to recreate how Abernethy might have looked in the 1070s. The resulting digital reconstruction shows the tower, church, and dwellings of the Culdees and their tenants. An interactive virtual reality version of the reconstruction can be explored at the Museum of Abernethy.

Sarah Kennedy, Iain Oliver, Bess Rhodes, Alan Miller

David Strachan (Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust), Bess Rhodes (University of St Andrews)

The representation of eleventh-century Abernethy was informed by study of the extant round tower and its surroundings, and comparison with early monastic sites in Ireland (including Downpatrick, Devenish, and Glendalough).

A digital landscape was created using survey data and height map. Models were created in 3D modelling programs and imported into UNREAL (a cross-platform game engine for creating virtual worlds). The models were then scaled, orientated and assembled. The landscapes were populated with flora and fauna. Where applicable, models of characters and animals were imported and animated.