Feature: Plan repair solves boundary mystery

The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) has a team of conservators dedicated to conserving and preserving the nation's records. Occasionally, the team undertakes work for fellow organisations, so when approached by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (RBGE) to repair a plan, our conservators obliged. What they were faced with was a huge plan measuring almost 6 feet by 4 feet (around 1.9 by 1.3 metres) which had been covered in varnish and which was falling apart at the edges - probably due to rolling and unrolling such an unwieldy document.

The conservation of this plan took two conservators a total of 125 hours. A substantial piece of work indeed. Once completed, the curators from the Botanic Garden were able to fully understand the importance of the plan. It was created at a time of great change in the garden, and the way it charts different varieties of plants suggests it was used as a teaching aid.