(Scottish Forests and Lands/AOC Archeology)

These ruined stone buildings hidden in the forests of the Scottish Highlands would have been an ideal place for making illicit whiskey.

These ancient buildings, which date back to the 17th century, were almost forgotten until Scotland's *** Agency Forestry and Land Plan was established to harvest trees near the lake, 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Glasgow. A local historical group told the agency about the destroyed buildings and conducted a digital survey of the site. Highland Whiskey (Edwin Landseer)

Making whiskey from malted barley is a traditional agricultural activity in the Scottish Highlands.

But *** small whiskey stills were banned from the late 17th century and heavily taxed to make money from the whiskey trade. Many Highlanders responded by making whiskey illegally where *** whiskey could not be found.

*** COPS (Getty Research)

*** OFFICIALS KNOWN AS "COWS" - TAX ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS - ARE IN THE SCOTS OF HIGHLANDS COUNSELING ILLEGAL COMBINED Whiskey and distilling equipment.

Anti-smuggling agents enforce taxes and prevent smuggling; for this they often become unsavory figures in Scottish society.

Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, once worked as a smuggling agent himself. He wrote a song advising many smuggling agents to go to hell: Dale’s Historical Map (1860-1863) Ordnance Survey Map)

Stone buildings hidden in the forest above the lake are not completely unknown.

This map from the 1860s shows them as two sets of farm buildings, several hundred feet apart: Great Bruch and Little Bruch, or Bruch, or Bruch - the Scottish word Bruch meaning medieval of land possession. Stone Ruins (Scottish Forests and Lands)

Today, two sets of stone buildings lie in ruins in the forest. Their roofs have now collapsed, but the stone walls remain intact.

This is a review of the smaller of the two groups of buildings, from Wee Bruach in the South West. Forest Setting (Scottish Forests and Lands/AOC Archeology)

While surveying using a digital laser scanner, archaeologists were careful to highlight the Douglas fir forest surrounding the destroyed building, which was A distinctive feature of the site.

Three-dimensional laser scans of the buildings were combined with laser scans of the surrounding forest to give an overall picture of the site. The ruined kilns (Image credit: Scottish Forest and Land Archeology/AOC Of Special Interest

were two large brick kilns, one next to each group of farmhouses, which would have been used for drying Grain grown, or barley used for roasting whiskey

The kiln head of the Weekbruch has collapsed but its central chamber or bowl remains intact; Collapsed, but with its front and flue intact Grain drying kiln (Scottish Forest and Land Archeology/AOC Archeology)

Archeology by combining digital data from laser scans of two destroyed kilns. The home has been able to reconstruct the appearance of a complete kiln. Artist's impression (Scottish Forest and Land/Alan Braby)

The smaller of the two groups of ruined buildings, also. It is those of Bruch on Monday, which are more complete.

Three-dimensional data from laser scans of Bruch's buildings have now been used to create an artist's impression of what it might have been like in the late 18th and 18th centuries. What Wee Bruach looked like at the turn of the century (Scottish Forest and Land/Alan Braby) The artist's Interpretation shows that Wee Bruach's building was, on the surface, a working sheep farm. It's a legal activity, but at the same time, it may be hiding its most profitable enterprise - illegal whiskey distilling - from the *** taxman.

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