Antiquarian

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...

Illustration of a Pictish hillfort

Who would you meet travelling from one place to the next in 7th-century Pictland? What could you eat at a feast? And what would the bard be singing about? 🤔

Dig into early medieval Scotland with 'Carved in Stone', one of the ideas in our archaeology gift guide: www.digitscotland.com/scottish-arc...

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...

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

Photo of two people in ancient clothing in front of a replica Iron Age roundhouse

FREE ONLINE MAGAZINE: Celebrating Archaeology in Scotland

Explore the links between archaeology and wellbeing in the 2025 edition from Scotland's Archaeology Strategy, featuring our @digitscotland.bsky.social and @scarf-scot.bsky.social projects: archaeologystrategy.scot/magazine/

#ScotArchStrat

The Glenlivet 56 Year Old 1 of 1 42.7 abv (1 Bottle 70cl) | Finest Whisky | The Glenlivet Exclusive | 2025 | Sotheby's <p><strong>The Glenlivet 56 Year Old 1 of 1 42.7 abv</strong></p><p><br></p><p><em>This lot is offered Duty Paid With VAT On the Hammer Price.</em></p><p><br></p><p>The second edition in <em>The Etern...

Fancy a dram? This week Sotheby's will auction a bottle of 56 year old The Glenlivet whisky. Proceeds will help support our @n-t-s.bsky.social archaeology work at Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairgorms, where river action is eroding an important prehistoric site.
www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti...

Photo of the book Carved in Stone.

Carved in Stone is officially out!

In this comprehensive setting guide you'll be able to see, touch, taste, hear and smell your way through everything that modern-day scholars currently know of the enigmatic culture of the Picts, from the perspective of someone living in the late 7th Century.

Now's your chance to make Pictish history. Please buy a copy of our Rhynie big book - you have till 6th December to order!

Carved standing stone in front of mountain landscape with the words Crowdfunding Campaign Launch over it

CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: ‘Rhynie, A Powerful Place of Pictland’

Please pre-order or donate before 6 December to enable us to print this book by Professor Gordon Noble FSAScot, which will have a major impact on the study of Pictish kingship and society: www.kickstarter.com/projects/soc...

A historic building with a pottery shop at the bottom and the words Work With Us overlaid

WORK WITH US: Fundraising Officer

We are seeking a Fundraising Officer to join at a pivotal moment in our history as we launch a fundraising campaign to purchase and redevelop a listed building beside the National Museum of Scotland.

Find out more and apply: www.socantscot.org/news/work-wi...

Looking forward to seeing you and all your stickers!

Drawers in a library with the words ONLINE FELLOWS’ MEETING over the image

ONLINE FELLOWS’ MEETING: Getting Started with Family History

Find out how to get started researching your family history, particularly in Scotland, and why you might consider commissioning a professional researcher at this Fellows-only event on 30 October: www.socantscot.org/events/onlin...

We are pleased to be supporting this event, which includes a talk on Ursula Clark’s photographs for ‘Architecture of Scotland’ by George Hay. A Fellow of the Society from 1953 to 1986, George was one of the most accomplished practitioners and interpreters of the distinctive architecture of Scotland.

Did you know that our Head of Research @helspencer.bsky.social is the Aim 2 Lead for the Scotland’s Strategic Archaeology Committee? If you would also like to be involved, they are looking for a new chair to lead the committee as it launches Scotland’s next Archaeology Strategy in Spring 2026.

New paper. Recording the female experience of UK archaeology 1990-2010. Anne Teather and I document how an industry EDI agenda evolved in the 1990s and was dismantled, uncovering the ramifications of that for women archaeologists over the next decade.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

#openaccess✅

‘Tunnel vision’: how Israel is using archaeology to win US support for goals Scientists say Netanyahu government and its US backers are trying to construct a history shorn of all complexity

“‘Tunnel vision’: how Israel is using archaeology to win US support for goals.

Scientists say Netanyahu government and its US backers are trying to construct a history shorn of all complexity” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

'Forgotten' royal castle uncovered at Finlaggan on Islay Archaeologists say the fortress was owned by ancestors of Scotland's medieval Lord of the Isles.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I worked there in the 90s. They have done a lovely job and urge anyone interested in the Kingdom of the Isles to get a hold of the book published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay is available from the online shop

Mewtwo!

Illustration of a medieval castle spread across two islands and overlaid text which says: New Book

NEW BOOK: 'The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay'

We are thrilled to announce the release of our book by Dr David Caldwell FSAScot, which reveals the results of a major archaeological project at Finlaggan on Islay, the site of a medieval kingdom’s centre of power: www.socantscot.org/uncategorize...

Photo of a museum exhibit showing anti-racist artwork, posters and protest banners

FREE PUBLIC LECTURE: Glasgow Museums has been shaped and impacted by the histories of British Empire and transatlantic slavery.

On 2 October, learn how the organisation is working to address the colonial histories that shape Glasgow, its museums and its people: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reinterpre...

BEFS calls for greater heritage recognition in culture funding conversations. Our pre-budget scrutiny response highlights maintenance, reuse & repair of existing buildings as preventative spend supporting culture, carbon targets, tourism & housing emergency: www.befs.org.uk/wp-c...

#CultureFunding

Blue books piled on top of each other with gold text on them that reads 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'

Interested in reading all articles in the most recent 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland', our annual peer-reviewed journal of Scottish history and archaeology?

Find out more about becoming a Fellow of the Society and apply before 30 September: www.socantscot.org/join/

NEW PUBLIC LECTURE PROGRAMME

We are delighted to announce our programme of free events taking place in Edinburgh and online.

Register now for lectures on colonial histories, the Lords of the Isles, the creation of an illustrated guide to the Picts, and more: www.socantscot.org/upcoming-eve...

Photo of young people in casual attire and protective clothing clustered around a bowl at a skatepark watching each other drop in

FUNDING NEWS: We recently awarded £17,478 to 11 projects investigating Scotland's past.

This includes excavation and survey work at Scotland's first skatepark in Glasgow, "a place that was so special for hundreds of young people just decades ago": www.socantscot.org/news/society...

Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship These guidelines lay the foundation for a broad expansion of what constitutes historical scholarship.

The AHA’s Guidelines on Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship lay the foundation for expanding what constitutes historical scholarship and can be adapted to any institution in which historians work and where historical scholarship is expected. 🗃️

Etching of Gunning’s estate near Rio de Janeiro with the words: New Guest Blog overlaid

NEW GUEST BLOG - The Gunning Victoria Jubilee Gift: Brazilian Slavery and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Dr Simon Buck writes about Dr Robert Halliday Gunning (1818-1900), new information on his links to slavery, and his connections to the Society: www.socantscot.org/news/guest-b...

Silver metal with words on it

NOMINATION DEADLINE: Dorothy Marshall Medal

Do you know someone who, in a voluntary capacity, has made an outstanding contribution to Scottish archaeological or related work?

Submit your nomination for the Dorothy Marshall Medal before midnight on 10 August 2025: www.socantscot.org/grants-prize...

Old map with overlaid text: New Recordings

NEW RECORDINGS: Rhind Lectures 2025: Scotland's Place-Names

Covering language, archaeology, the church and more, all six recordings from the Rhind Lectures 2025 with Dr Simon Taylor are now available on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Sponsored by Ordnance Survey

Photo of a group of people digging in an archaeological trench.

Archaeology for all ⛏

Since 2021, @archscot.bsky.social has been working with displaced & marginalised communities to open up access to heritage.

Join us for a free talk by Kieran Manchip on co-designing archaeology taster sessions with refugee volunteers: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/widening-p...