Scottish National Portrait Gallery - crest above Society of Antiquaries entrance

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

body of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, with its headquarters in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opene ...

, Chambers Street,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usual style of

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

for fellows is FSAScot.

History

The Society is the oldest antiquarian society in Scotland, and the second-oldest in Britain after the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

. Founded by David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan on 18 December 1780, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, was elected the first President. It was incorporated by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1783, in the same year as the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, and in their early years both societies shared accommodation on George Street and in the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

building on

The Mound The Mound is an artificial slope in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New and Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loch which wa ...

. Members of the Society collected artefacts of interest to Scottish history and culture from its foundation, and soon the Society developed a sizeable collection. In November 1851 the signing of a Deed of Conveyance with the Board of Manufactures on behalf of Parliament made the Society collections National Property. In 1891 the antiquaries moved into the purpose-built Scottish National Portrait Gallery and

National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened i ...

, located on Queen Street. The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland Act 1954 transferred the powers and duties relating to the Museum, previously vested in the Society of Antiquaries and the National Galleries, to a new Board. Alexander Rhind left a bequest to the Society to fund a lecture series, the Rhind Lectures are still hosted by the Society; an online recording of these prestigious lectures has been made available to the public since 2009.

Objects

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is a charitable organisation whose purpose is set out in its Royal Charter from 1783: The first Law of the Society focuses this further: The Society today is concerned with every aspect of the human past in Scotland. It draws on a wide range of experience through the

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ship, and provides a voice for Scotland's heritage independent of the opinions of Government, University, or Agency. The Society is consulted by a wide range of organisations from central government to academic funding bodies such as the

Arts & Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts ...

. The Society makes written responses to numerous consultations, some jointly with

Archaeology Scotland Archaeology Scotland, formerly known as the Council for Scottish Archaeology (CSA) is a membership organisation which seeks to promote the understanding of archaeology in Scotland. This group works with lay people and academia to help care for th ...

(formerly CSA) and the Scottish Group of the

Chartered Institute for Archaeologists The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is a professional organisation for archaeologists working in the United Kingdom and overseas. It was founded in 1982, and at 21 July 2020 had 3,931 members overall, of whom 3,033 were accredited ...

. The Society worked closely with the Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland (HEACS was abolished by the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 as part of the Scottish Government's policy to simplify the landscape of public bodies), and gave evidence to their working groups on heritage protection legislation and properties in care. The Society has also been actively involved in the

Built Environment Forum Scotland Built may refer to: * ''Built'' (TV series), an American reality television series that aired on the Style Network *''Built: the hidden stories behind our structures'', 2018 book by Roma Agrawal * Building Built different definition- Levi on P ...

, an umbrella body for NGOs in the built and historic environment sectors.

Fellowship

Members of the Society have, since 1823, been known as

s of the Society. There are now thousands of Fellows spread across the globe, including

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in ...

s elected for their outstanding scholarship. Fellowship recognises a persons support and contributions to the purpose and mission of the Society, and Fellows are permitted to use the

post-nominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

s ''FSAScot'' (NB Not FSA (Scot) or similar). The Society has an international membership of around 3000 Fellows and a maximum of 25 Honorary Fellows. Admission to the Society is by

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

, and candidates must be supported by existing Fellows. The names of those seeking admission are then circulated to the whole Fellowship. Elections are held annually at the Anniversary Meeting (AGM) on

St Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November (according to Gregorian calendar) and on 13 December (according to Julian calendar). Saint Andrew i ...

, 30 November. Fundamental to being a candidate for election to the Fellowship is an interest or involvement in Scotland's past. Candidates are advised of the outcome of the election shortly after the ballot.

Supporting research

A major part of the Society's programme is support for research into Scotland's past, and there are various grants and awards to assist different kinds of work, from survey and excavation to finds analysis and archival research.

Other prizes and awards

The Society also encourages best practice and continued research into Scotland's past through various prizes and awards.
The RBK Stevenson Award
- This award is offered annually in recognition of the article published in the ''Proceedings'' on a topic that best reflects the scholarship and high standards of this distinguished individual, who was for many years the Keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and was President of the Society between 1975 and 1978.
The Dorothy Marshall Medal
- Awarded every three years by the Council of the Society for an outstanding contribution, in a voluntary capacity, to Scottish archaeological or related work.
The Murray Medal for History
- Awarded biennially to recognise original research published by the Society into the history of Scotland in the medieval and/or early modern periods (c AD 500 to AD 1700).
Chalmers-Jervise Prize
- Awarded biennially for the best paper published by the Society to cover any subject in the prehistory or archaeology of Scotland before AD 1100.

Lectures and events

The Society hosts monthly lectures, usually between October and May, and generally held in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen, although some are jointly hosted with other Societies elsewhere in Scotland. The Society can also fund other Societies to invite a lecturer to them; this lecture is called the Buchan Lecture. In addition, the Society hosts the prestigious Rhind Lectures, a series of six lectures, often presented by a single lecturer over a weekend. These allow the lecturer to present their topic in much greater detail and depth than otherwise possible, and are often published. The Rhind lectures began in 1874 after the death of Alexander Rhind who left the residue of his estate to endow a lectureship in the Society and there have now been over 130 lectures and many have become the published textbook for a generation. *Society lectures and other events are now recorded where possible an
placed online
on the Society website free to view. *The Rhind Lectures are similarly recorded an
available to view
since 2009.

Publications

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has three main publishing branches: *

Peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

ed Books, previously known as

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

s, covering a wide variety of topics in the history and archaeology of Scotland. *The ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'' (), a yearly

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

ed journal covering the latest archaeological and historical research in Scotland. The Society has made the entire run of the ''Proceedings'' since 1851, and its predecessor ''Archaeologica Scotica'' back to 1792, freely available on the internet. *''Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports'' (SAIR, ) is a

ed online publication that includes larger and more data-rich projects. It is freely accessible without subscription or payment. There is also a regular Society ''Newsletter'' (), and the Societ
publishes book reviews on their website

List of presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (; 20 July 176614 November 1841) was a British nobleman, soldier, politician and diplomat, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures (known as the Elgin M ...

(1823 to 1841) * James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin (1841 to 1843) *

Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, (2 December 1833 – 17 January 1900), styled Lord Schomberg Kerr until 1870, was a British diplomat and Conservative politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland under Lord Salisbury betwee ...

(1876 to 1890) *

Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet, (8 January 1845 – 30 October 1937) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, artist, antiquarian, horticulturalist, prominent salmon angler and author of books on angling and Conservative politician who ...

(1900 to 1913) *

John Abercromby, 5th Baron Abercromby John Abercromby, 5th Baron Abercromby of Tullibody (15 January 1841 – 7 October 1924) was a Scottish soldier and archaeologist. Life Abercromby was born in Tullibody House as the son of George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby, and Louisa Pe ...

(1913 to 1918) * Sir

George Macdonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll ...

(1933 to 1940) * Sir John Stirling-Maxwell of Pollock (1945 to 1950) * Major General James Scott-Elliott (1965 to 1967) * Professor Stuart Piggott (1967 to 1972) * Kenneth A. Steer (1972 to 1975) * Robert B. K. Stevenson (1975 to 1978) * Dr Ronald G. Cant (1978 to 1981) *

Stuart Maxwell Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

(1981 to 1984) * Professor

Leslie Alcock Leslie Alcock (24 April 1925 – 6 June 2006) was Professor of Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, and one of the leading archaeologists of Early Medieval Britain. His major excavations included Dinas Powys hill fort in Wales, Cadbury C ...

(1984 to 1987) * Professor David J. Breeze (1987 to 1990) * Dr Anna Ritchie (1990 to 1993) * Professor

Gordon Maxwell Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

(1993 to 1996) * Professor Michael Lynch (1996 to 1999) * Dr Graham Ritchie (1999 to 2002) * Lisbeth Thoms (2002 to 2005) * Professor Roger Mercer (2005 to 2008) * Dr Barbara Crawford (2008 to 2011) * Alan Saville (2011 to 2014) * Dr David Caldwell (2014 to 2020) * Professor Ian Ralston (2020 to present)

Notable vice presidents

* Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

(1827 to 1829) * Sir

James Young Simpson Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet, (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans a ...

(1860 to 1870) * Dr John Alexander Smith (1870 to 1873)

References

External links

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland website

Society of Antiquaries Facebook Page

The Society Of Antiquaries Of Scotland Scanning Project
including th
online archive of ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland''

''Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports''

''Scottish Archaeological Research Framework'' project run by the Society
{{Authority control 1780 establishments in Scotland Archaeological organizations Archaeological professional associations Archives in Scotland Archaeology of Scotland Learned societies of Scotland Antiquaries of Scotland Organizations established in 1780 Text publication societies History of literature in Scotland Historical societies of the United Kingdom History organisations based in Scotland