Angus is on the tomb trail
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FAR north photographer Angus Mackay has been buzzing around Caithness from lofty heights and capturing some intriguing details often missed from the ground.
Angus is well known for his wedding, commercial and press photography, but recently opened up new horizons by acquiring a drone and gaining his Permission for Commercial Operations.
"As a full-time freelance photographer for over 11 years now, I decided I wanted to add another dimension to the services I can offer my clients," Angus explained.
"Having bought a drone and enjoyed the fantastic new photographic perspective it gave me, I decided to study towards being able to operate commercially."
After gaining his operating certificate, the Dunbeath-based photographer took trips around Caithness capturing the splendour of the county's castles and crofts. Two features he captured in the landscape had him better understand the importance of aerial photography in revealing aspects that may be otherwise hidden – the ancient burial grounds of Latheron and Dirlot.
"The cemetery shots are good examples of just how our familiarity can be questioned when we look at places from a different perspective," said Angus.
Close to his home at Dunbeath he took a shot directly above the old cemetery at Latheron, where the Clan Gunn Museum is now situated.
"I was surprised to see how perfect the proportions of the walls were to create an octagon shape," he said. Around the 18th century church and graveyard, the pictures show that the clearly defined perimeter walls make a perfectly formed eight-sided shape. This octagon shape is also mimicked by the shape of the pulpit within the church and would have held some symbolic significance originally.
There is evidence of a pre-existing church on the site that dates back to the 16th century and it is thought that an even earlier place of worship was built there in the 13th century.
Number symbolism was hugely important in medieval Europe and particularly the octagon which represented rebirth and resurrection. The number eight also represented cosmic balance and eternal life.
Within old Scottish folklore it was also thought that the Devil would hide in the corners of a boneyard to catch the souls of the departed. This led to the construction of graveyards with less defined corners that could be circular or in the Latheron case octagonal.
Another trip made by Angus took him out to the west of the county near the site of Dirlot Castle. The drone images of the area show another polygon feature close to where the castle once stood – this time a pentagon shape and once again a cemetery that also has associations with the Clan Gunn.
Caithness-born historian and TV broadcaster Ashley Cowie did a study of the oddly shaped graveyard and said that the pentagon was often associated with witchcraft and the occult.
"Whoever commissioned, designed and built this unique pentagonal cemetery, must have been powerful enough not to be accused of witchcraft," he said.
Ashley thinks that the cemetery shows clear Masonic influences and its perimeter walls actually create an arrow-shape pointing towards Neolithic remains in the distance. His intriguing conclusion is that the 18th century Freemasons of Caithness pointed their graveyard at the prehistoric site in order to "honour their forefathers".
More of Angus Mackay's images can be seen online at: www.angusmackay.co.uk
