This image is a digital visual reconstruction depicting the siege of Stirling Castle in 1304, a pivotal event in the Scottish Wars of Independence. The image is an aerial view of the siege, derived from a detailed 3D model and enhanced with digital painting. It shows how Stirling Castle might have appeared during King Edward I’s assault, focusing on the deployment of the massive trebuchet 'Warwolf'. Regarded as one of the largest trebuchets ever built, this giant siege engine was capable of hurling projectiles over distances exceeding 200 yards. Although historical descriptions of the machine are sparse, the reconstruction draws on experimental archaeology, modern replica trebuchets, and informed speculation. The project took over 500 hours to complete across sixteen months. It was developed with extensive historical input from castle historian Simon Forder and additional consultation from military historians and archaeologists. Due to limited archaeological evidence for Stirling Castle’s pre-sixteenth-century form, the reconstruction is necessarily speculative, combining historical logic, landscape analysis, and a small number of medieval visual sources, notably Walter Bower’s Scotichronicon. Rather than depicting a single moment, the image condenses multiple phases of siege activity—bombardment, and the construction of siege engines into a single composite scene. The background landscape reflects contemporary understanding of medieval land use, including the speculative extent of the royal hunting park to the west of the castle.

Personal Work (December, 2019).

More about this project: "Wolf At The Door" - The Siege of Stirling Castle, 1304

Software / Tools

Blender 3D, Photoshop