Acfa is embracing digital survey techniques but sometimes an ‘old school’ method fits the bill. Traditionally we’ve not been the biggest fans of plane tables – something about lugging them over vast distances of rough ground – though we do appreciate their use in certain situations. Here is our plane table being used to record a recent excavation by Heather James(Calluna Archaeology) at the Drumshanty flax mill near Kirkintilloch. Ed Smith (centre) planned the trenches, lade and river.