The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. [1]
The usual style of post-nominal letters for fellows is FSAScot.
The Society is the oldest antiquarian society in Scotland, and the second-oldest in Britain after the Society of Antiquaries of London. [2] Founded by David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan on 18 December 1780, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the former prime minister, was elected the first President. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1783, in the same year as the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in their early years both societies shared accommodation on George Street and in the Royal Institution building on The Mound. 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, located on Queen Street. [3] 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. The Society is now an independent not-for-profit charity registered in Scotland (SC010440).
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. [4]
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is a charitable organisation whose purpose is set out in its Royal Charter from 1783:
…a Society to investigate both antiquities and natural and civil history in general, with the intention that the talents of mankind should be cultivated and that the study of natural and useful sciences should be promoted.
The first Law of the Society focuses this further:
The purpose of the Society shall be the study of the Antiquities and History of Scotland, more especially by means of Archaeological Research. [5]
The Society today is concerned with every aspect of the human past in Scotland. It draws on a wide range of experience through the Fellowship, 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 Society makes written responses to numerous consultations, some jointly with Archaeology Scotland (formerly CSA) and the Scottish Group of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. 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, an umbrella body for NGOs in the built and historic environment sectors.
Members of the Society have, since 1823, been known as Fellows of the Society. There are now thousands of Fellows spread across the globe, including Honorary Fellows elected for their outstanding scholarship. Fellowship recognises a person's support and contributions to the purpose and mission of the Society, and Fellows are permitted to use the post-nominals FSAScot (NB Not FSA (Scot) or similar). The Society has an international membership of around 2800 Fellows and a maximum of 25 Honorary Fellows. Admission to the Society is by election, and candidates must be supported by existing Fellows. The names of those seeking admission are then circulated to the whole Fellowship. Elections are held biannually at the Anniversary Meeting (AGM) on St Andrew's Day, 30 November, and in Spring, usually in April. 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.
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.
The Society also encourages best practice and continued research into Scotland's past through various prizes and awards.
The Society hosts monthly lectures, usually between October and May, and generally held in Edinburgh, although some are jointly hosted with other Societies elsewhere in Scotland. The Society can also fund other local 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.
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has three main publishing outputs:
There is also a regular Society Newsletter ( ISSN 0960-703X), and the Society publishes book reviews on their website.
The following have served as presidents of the Society: [6]
An antiquarian or antiquary is an 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 artifacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory."
Stuart Ernest Piggott, was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex.
Alexander Stuart Murray, FBA was a Scottish archaeologist. He was known for excavations on Cyprus.
National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection.
David Steuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, styled Lord Cardross between 1747 and 1767, was a Scottish antiquarian, founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1780 and first vice president, and patron of the arts and sciences.
Sir James Balfour Paul was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Alexander Henry Rhind was a Scottish antiquarian and archaeologist.
Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet, was a Scottish novelist, essayist, artist, antiquarian, horticulturalist, prominent salmon angler and author of books on angling and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1906.
Robert Munro FRSE FSA LLD was a Scottish physician and noted amateur archaeologist.
Rhind Lectures are a series of lectures on archaeological topics. They have been hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland since 1874. The content of the lectures is usually published in journals or expanded into new works by their authors.
John Stuart LLD (1813–1877) was a Scottish genealogist.
Gilbert Stuart (1742–1786) was a Scottish journalist and historian.
David John Breeze, OBE, FSA, FRSE, HonFSAScot, Hon MIFA is a British archaeologist, teacher and scholar of Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and the Roman army. He studied under Eric Birley and is a member of the so-called "Durham School" of archaeology. He was a close friend and colleague of the late Dr Brian Dobson.
John Romilly Allen FSA FSAScot was a British archaeologist.
Sir George Macdonald was a British archaeologist and numismatist who studied the Antonine Wall.
Audrey Shore Henshall was a British archaeologist known for her work on Scottish chambered cairns, prehistoric pottery and early textiles.
Caroline Rosa Wickham-Jones MA MSocSci FSA HonFSAScot MCIfA(25 April 1955 – 13 January 2022) was a British archaeologist specialising in Stone Age Orkney. She was a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen until her retirement in 2015.
Frederick Coles FSA Scot (1854–1929) was an archaeologist, artist, naturalist and musician. For many years he worked as Assistant Keeper at the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh from where he was funded to make a series of annual field archaeology expeditions to survey and draw stone circles in Scotland.
Dr Anna Ritchie OBE, BA, PhD, FSA, Hon FSA Scot is a British archaeologist and historian.
David Christison FRCPE LLD was a Scottish physician, botanist, writer and antiquary. He served as a military doctor during the Crimean War, at which time, owing to illness, he abandoned his medical career. From the 1860s onwards Christison travelled extensively in South America and became a travel writer, publishing an account of his journeys within Paraguay, and other books on topics relating to that country. He also turned to archaeology in which, through his interest in botany, he made advances in the science of dendrochronology. He became a pioneer of systematic field study in archaeological research and was one of the first to carry out an extensive investigation of Scotland's ancient hillforts, writing and publishing extensively on the topic in later life.
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