The National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland are jointly funding a team from Orkney College to conduct a survey on the Isle of Iona this week.
The objective is to find evidence of an early-Christian monastery built by the 6th Century Irish missionary, Saint Columba, who reached Iona in 563AD.
The team is carrying out a series of geophysical tests in the fields around Iona Abbey, the restored 13th Century abbey which stands on the site of Saint Columba’s church. Ground penetrating radar and other equipment will be used to map underground features.
Derek Alexander, an archaeologist with National Trust for Scotland, says: ‘There’s some debate about the exact location of Saint Columba’s monastery, but we’re hoping that the project will enable us to locate not only the monastery, but other structures such as dwelling houses and workshops that would have formed part of the religious settlement.
‘The last geophysical survey of the area was carried out in the 1970s, and whilst this has shown us where to start looking, the quality of the equipment available to us now will enable us to explore the site in much greater detail.’
Richard Strachan, Senior Archaeologist at Historic Scotland, which looks after Iona Abbey, says: ‘Iona has been a centre of Christian pilgrimage for over 1400 years, and many thousands of people are drawn here every year to soak up its rugged beauty and spiritual atmosphere.
‘We hope the findings of the survey will enhance the understanding of the ancient monastery which we can then use in our interpretation of the site for visitors.’
Results from the survey will be published this spring.
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