Boo!

Hallowe'en found me wandering about a churchyard after dark with a whole group of other people. It's certainly one way to avoid the guisers!

Actually there was another reason for these nocturnal activities: we were undertaking something called Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI for short) with archaeologists from Scotland's Urban Past. This is part of a project to document the gravestones in the kirkyard of Cumbernauld Old Parish Church.

RTI involves taking multiple photographs of each stone from a fixed point with a light source at differing heights and angles from the stone. The staff at Scotland's Urban Past have software that will combine these multiple images and, hopefully, the shadows cast by the light will reveal the otherwise-illegible inscriptions on each stone. Or something like that!

Not sure how well our efforts will turn out, but it was certainly an educational evening and a fun way to spend Hallowe'en. Looking forward to seeing the results from the professionals when they have been processed.