University of Glasgow - Engineers give archaeology a shot

Archaeologists have enlisted engineers to help them resolve unanswered questions about the 1746 Battle of Culloden. Tony Pollard, director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, has worked with Alan Birkbeck of the university's ballistics and impact group to build a fully functioning replica cannon weighing half a ton. The archaeology team, which has recovered shot fired by cannon from the site, will now test how lead shot reacts when it hits different surfaces. "These results can then tell us how the cannon were used in the battle and, depending on what they struck - human bodies, the earth or stone - how effective they were in battle," Dr Pollard said.