The Historic Land use Assessment (HLA) is a technique for helping understand the historic aspects of the landscape around us from an archaeological perspective. The HLA records the historical origins of the various components that make up the landscape, showing how they interrelate spatially and chronologically, and in doing so offers an insight into some of the processes that have created our modern landscape and enables us to recognise how features that survive from past events continue to influence the present. As such, the HLA is a key tool for understanding the historic landscape and complements other techniques of landscape assessment. In combination these enable a more holistic view of the landscape and its development over time to be achieved and approaches to landscape management and planning to be better integrated.

This download service provides spatial data available from Historic Environment Scotland. The following datasets are included: - World Heritage Sites - Conservation Areas - Scheduled Monuments - Gardens and Designed Landscapes - Listed Buildings - Battlefields Inventory Boundaries - Historic Marine Protected Areas - Properties in Care

Defining Scotland’s Places (DSP) aims to define the known extent of the archaeological sites and monuments in the National Record of the Historic Environment at Historic Environment Scotland, John Sinclair House, Edinburgh. The polygons created through Defining Scotland's Places do not carry ANY legal status. For instance they do not represent the legal extent of a Scheduled Monument or Listed Building.

The defining of Conservation Areas is governed by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997; an update from previous Acts relating to such areas. Conservation Areas are designated by local planning authorities and can play an important role in environmental enhancement, economic and community regeneration (e.g. Townscape Heritage Initiatives and Conservation Areas Regeneration Schemes). Councils review conservation areas from time to time in order to assess the need for alteration of boundaries for areas for which special planning considerations apply, e.g. Article 4 directions. Many conservation areas now have character appraisals to explain what it is that should be preserved and what can be enhanced.

Scottish Cultural ProtectedSites are INSPIRE compliant versions of Historic Environment Scotland designations and national monument records data. The Scottish Cultural Designations schema includes the following designation values: - Battlefield - Conservation Area - Garden and Designed Landscape - Historic Marine Protected Area - Listed Building - Scheduled Monument World Heritage Sites are included within the UNESCOWorldHeritage designation schema National Monument Records are included in the NationalMonumentRecord designation schema

The Scottish Radiocarbon index shows the location of archaeological sites in Scotland where radiocarbon dating has been undertaken. The spatial index includes a link to the relevant record on the Canmore database (https://canmore.org.uk/) listing all recorded radiocarbon determinations with hyperlinks leading to individual results. The database excludes those results that cannot be linked to an identifiable site record in Canmore. It does not represent a complete record of all radiocarbon determinations undertaken across Scotland but is relatively complete up to 2005.

The Properties in Care dataset comprises information on properties in the care of Historic Environment Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers and others. The properties in care estate is a collection of monuments, which define significant aspects of Scotland's history, brought into care for their long term preservation and public benefit through the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The dataset identifies the approximate location of properties and sites.

Gardens and designed landscapes are grounds which have been laid out for artistic effect and, in appropriate cases, include references to any buildings, land, or water on, adjacent, or contiguous to such grounds. Sites included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes are nationally important. The criteria for determining national importance is published in Annex 5 of the Scottish Historic Environment Policy 2011. The duty to compile and maintain the Inventory is statutory. Historic Environment Scotland manages this work on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. There is no primary legislation that affords protection to Inventory gardens and designed landscapes. However, Inventory status is a material consideration in the planning system.

The Inventory of Historic Battlefields is a list of nationally important battlefields in Scotland that meet the criteria published in SHEP 2009. It provides information on the sites to raise awareness of their significance and assist in their protection and management for the future. It is a major resource for enhancing the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of battlefields, for promoting education and stimulating further research, and for developing their potential as attractions for visitors.

The Listed Building Dataset comprises the statutory addresses and supplementary information for listed buildings in Scotland. Listing is the recognition through the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 that a building or structure is of ‘special’ interest. Historic Environment Scotland lists buildings on behalf of Scottish Ministers.