@socantscot.bsky.social
A membership charity founded in 1780 that supports the study and enjoyment of Scotland’s past through publications, lectures, @scarf-scot.bsky.social, @digitscotland.bsky.social, @churchheritage.bsky.social and more | Visit https://www.socantscot.org/
Photo a group of people under a wooden hut pointing
FELLOWS' BENEFIT: Exclusive Events
Want access to behind-the-scenes tours and invitation-only online events exploring Scotland's past? Find out more about becoming a Fellow and apply by 28 February: www.socantscot.org/join/
CAPITAL FUNDRAISING APPEAL: Scotland’s heritage hub
We have a unique opportunity to secure a new home, ensuring that our work reaches people today and creates a lasting legacy for generations to come.
Every conversation sparked by sharing the video brings us closer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1cY...
Image of a person taking a photo and smiling at the camera with overlaid text that says: Meet Our Fellows
‘I have greatly appreciated the enhanced opportunities to attend online events and lectures from Canada, as well as participating in the Society’s outreach activities to Fellows based outside Scotland.’
Who are our Fellows? Meet Elizabeth Ewan FSAScot: www.socantscot.org/who-are-our-...
Flyer with details of the open day
We’re hosting a drop-in Open Day at St Mary’s Church, Whitekirk on 7 Feb (11am–3pm).
Come explore the church, enjoy organ music, and join a short guided tour
@socantscot.bsky.social @scotchurchestrust.bsky.social @heritagefunduk.bsky.social
Old photograph of a memorial with the words 'Deeds Not Words' written over it and the text 'February Lecture' overlaid
FREE PUBLIC LECTURE: “Sappho Was Right”: Gravestones and Afterlives
Explore memorials by or for queer women who campaigned for suffrage in Scotland with Dr Keava McMillan at our hybrid event on 12 February: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sappho-was...
#LGBTplusHM
This Thursday, from the comfort of your own home, you can join us and @socantscot.bsky.social with speaker Prof. Hannah Cobb FSA FSAScot for an online lecture on how care in archaeology has the potential to be an act of radical and transformative resistance. www.sal.org.uk/event/care-f...
19.01.2026 09:36 — 👍 18 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 0
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JOIN US: Apply before 28 February
Did you know that anyone who is interested in Scotland’s past can apply to become a Fellow?
Benefits include exclusive access to all articles in the Society’s most recent annual journals and the use of FSAScot postnominals: www.socantscot.org/join/
Photo of the blue lid of a small container with "Clachbreck Cist D Teeth" written on it
NEW RESEARCH REPORT: Earlier Bronze Age burials at Clachbreck, Argyll
Fellows Dr Nyree Finlay and Dr Paul Duffy found a Society research grant to be "vital" in revisiting unpublished excavations by Marion Campbell FSAScot: www.socantscot.org/society-fund...
Photo of three people kneeling by an open archaeological trench on an island by the sea with the words "joint online lecture" overlaid
JOINT ONLINE EVENT: Care-full: An Examination of Care in Archaeology and Heritage
On 22 January, Prof Hannah Cobb FSA FSAScot discusses how care can be an act of radical and transformative resistance in archaeology at our free event with @antiquaries.bsky.social: www.sal.org.uk/event/care-f...
The Daer Reservoir © James Johnstone, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143533365
Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2026 by showcasing one of many fantastic case studies available on the ScARF website.
Our Case Study of the Month summarises the impressive assemblage of over 8,000 lithics uncovered at the Daer Reservoir in South Lanarkshire: bit.ly/4pAHn4x
An old building with the words 'Open Access Article' overlaid
OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE: ‘Peripheral vision: Operation Rotor, radar infrastructure and state power in Scotland 1950–1957’
Find out why Scotland became of greater strategic importance in the 1950s in this ‘Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’ article: doi.org/10.9750/PSAS...
We're starting off the new year with a new blog post! Our latest heritage spotlight explores covenanting banners - powerful objects used in 17th-century Scotland to express belief, identity, and collective action.
👉 churchheritage.scot/2026/01/07/h...
Image of a castle in the middle of a city with overlaid text: January Lecture
JANUARY LECTURE: The Lost Royal Lodgings of Edinburgh Castle and the Birthplace of Britain
Online tickets are still available for our free hybrid event with Peter Yeoman FSAScot on 15 January, the culmination of almost 40 years of investigation into the castle: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-lost-r...
Aerial view of an artificial island with overlaid text that says Open Access Article
OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE: ‘Scottish archaeological islands: a historiographical analysis and the legacy of antiquarian research’
Dig into crannogs, artificial islands dotting the landscapes of Scotland and Ireland, in the ‘Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’: doi.org/10.9750/PSAS...
My thesis is now available online on the history of @socantscot.bsky.social Much of it has been published in articles in the last few years but there's still lots of unpublished material in there if you fancy some Christmas reading #History #Museums #Scotland #Antiquarianism theses.gla.ac.uk/82236/
18.12.2025 15:15 — 👍 12 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0
Top left: Ferry to Arran for SWSARF Symposium © Rathmell Archaeology Limited; top right: Fieldtrip to High Banks Farm during the Kirkcudbright Rock Art workshop © ScARF; bottom: Participants of the Outer Hebrides SIRFA Symposium © ScARF
Our final newsletter of 2025 is now available! ❄️
We take a look back over the past year and towards an exciting year to come for the ScARF team.
Read the full newsletter here: bit.ly/4alMBx3
#HESSupported
Standing stone in the snow with overlaid text that says: Season's Greetings
SEASON'S GREETINGS
Our office will be closed from 5pm on 19 December and will open on 5 January.
On behalf of all staff and Council members, we want to thank our Fellows and followers for your support this year. Wishing you a safe, healthy and happy holiday season, and all the best for Hogmanay.
The above-water remains of an artificial island (known as a crannog) and its causeway
Students beginning to record the sections of an excavation trench at the top of a hill
An amulet from the early modern period made of a prehistoric flint arrowhead in a silver setting
Traces of Neolithic feasting, possible evidence of a Roman siege, and an amulet once thought to be imbued with supernatural power are just some of Scotland's top archaeological discoveries from 2025 🤩
Dig into our list of finds spanning 6,000 years of history: www.digitscotland.com/five-of-scot...
Aerial view of an excavation
NEW SAIR: ‘The re-examination of the Carmahome passage tomb, Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire’
Read the latest issue in the Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports (SAIR), our open access peer-reviewed series of excavation reports and large-scale surveys conducted in Scotland: doi.org/10.9750/issn...
Two people smiling at the camera; overlaid text says "Dorothy Marshall Medal"
"For this dedication over the last 15 years, sometimes during very challenging circumstances, to an oft-overlooked task in the service of Scottish archaeology, she is a highly appropriate recipient"
Read about our 2025 award winners, including Christine Yuill: www.socantscot.org/uncategorize...
Tent beside an excavated stone structure within the ground. Overlaid text says: RBK Stevenson Award
R B K STEVENSON AWARD: ‘Revisiting Knap of Howar, Papa Westray, Orkney’ by Hazel Moore FSAScot and Graeme Wilson FSAScot (with contributions by Seren Griffiths)
Delve into some of the most complete Neolithic stone houses in Northwest Europe in this open access paper: doi.org/10.9750/PSAS...
📣New Blog Post!
We’ve been working behind the scenes to shape the ReACH project database - defining recording headings, gathering existing data and collaborating with researchers across Scotland. An accessible, central hub for church heritage is in the way!
👉 churchheritage.scot/2025/12/08/b...
Pleased that I’ve been elected to remain on the @socantscot.bsky.social Council after having been co-opted earlier this year - really looking forward to working with the Society and the exciting work they’ve got planned for next year.
www.socantscot.org/about/council/
Map of western Scotland with markings showing key lookout points and routeways
2025 MURRAY PRIZE FOR HISTORY: Dr Shane McLeod FSAScot for 'Watching the waters: sentinel sites in the Inner Hebrides and western seaboard of Scotland'.
Discover a possible co-ordinated defence system guarding maritime routes in medieval Scotland in this open access paper: doi.org/10.9750/PSAS...
Finlaggan-fest @socantscot.bsky.social just wrapped - what a fantastic talk from David Caldwell covering over 1000 years of #archaeology & #history, & decades of digging & analyses 🏰 🏴 ⚔️ grab a copy of the monograph if you haven’t already! 📖 #Finlaggan #Islay #Scotland #medievalsky #skystorians
29.11.2025 15:18 — 👍 26 🔁 9 💬 3 📌 1
Congratulations to Dr Shane McLeod @thinkuhi.bsky.social who has been awarded the prestigious Murray Prize for History 2025 by @socantscot.bsky.social for his paper 'Watching the waters: sentinel sites in the Inner Hebrides and western seaboard of Scotland' tinyurl.com/3yu784wz
02.12.2025 09:31 — 👍 12 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0
Ceramic moulds for penannular brooches with the text 'last chance to pre-order' overlaid
LAST CHANCE TO PRE-ORDER: ‘Rhynie, A Powerful Place of Pictland’
Thanks to everyone who helped us surpass our crowdfunding target and every stretch goal, we will be printing and enhancing this nationally important monograph.
Want to pre-order the book? Visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/soc...
SIRFA Symposium participants at Rackwick Bay, Hoy © ScARF
ScARF bursary reminder! We offer year-round bursaries for students and early career researchers to help cover the cost of attending conferences and events.
If you're studying Scottish archaeology or starting your career in heritage, head to our Students page to learn more: scarf.scot/students/
If you want to find out more about Finlaggan, you can reserve your online ticket for Dr Caldwell’s free public lecture on 29 November (www.socantscot.org/upcoming-eve...), purchase a copy of the book (socantscot.org/finlaggan) or read the open access e-book (books.socantscot.org/digital-book...).
26.11.2025 11:03 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
TIME TEAM PODCAST: Interview with a Society Author
We are thrilled that @timeteam.bsky.social's latest podcast episode includes an interview with Dr David Caldwell FSAScot, who spoke about research detailed in our new book, 'The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay': podfollow.com/time-team/ep...
