Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

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Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

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Members of the Society are elected Fellows at the Anniversary Meeting, our AGM, on St Andrews Day each year.

Founded in 1780, we are a membership charity that supports the study and enjoyment of Scotland’s past by publishing books and peer-reviewed papers, supporting research, running lectures, managing ScARF and Dig It!, and more. As a charitable learned Society we are governed by a voluntary Council and the day-to-day organisation and running of the Society is carried out by dedicated full and part time staff. We have thousands of Fellows around the world and Fellows can use the post-nominals "FSAScot".

28/10/2026

LECTURE RECORDING: History in Our Bones: Uncovering Stories of Disability Through Time

If you missed our October public lecture by Professor Alison Beach, you can now catch up on YouTube (https://youtu.be/nEgB4dJG0s4?si=AuXIwVB_tR9bKn8g) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4oADy3hhYAuT0nM0Spoqu3?si=ZRL1_uUTS_Cpn27QM_OVww).

26/10/2026

Over 2,000 years ago, residents of a wetland village in Dumfries & Galloway may have used plants to make an Iron Age first aid kit 💊

This included a bowl holding willow leaves, which have long been known to effectively treat pain, fevers, joints and arthritis: https://www.digitscotland.com/the-archaeobotany-of-scotland-the-importance-of-plants-and-puffballs-in-iron-age-medicine/

22/10/2026

From church visits to community stories - catch up with ReACH!

It’s been a busy few weeks for our team, visiting Burntisland Old Parish Church, Portnahaven Church, the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh and Brechin Cathedral.

We’ve been recording church heritage, holding open days, meeting wonderful volunteers and listening to the people who know and care for these places. The knowledge, memories and generosity shared with us have been a real highlight of our visits.

Now it’s time to bring together everything we’ve recorded and learned, while continuing to work with communities and explore the stories that make each church special.

Read our latest blog for a look at what we’ve been up to and what comes next!

👉 https://churchheritage.scot/2026/10/22/from-church-visits-to-community-stories-a-reach-project-update/

📬 Want to keep up with ReACH? Sign up for our quarterly newsletter for project news, stories from our case studies and updates on our work: https://socantscot.us3.list-manage.com

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Scotland's Churches Trust The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland

21/10/2026

OPEN ACCESS: Society Publications

Celebrate International Open Access Week by reading 'Scottish Historical and Archaeological Internet Reports', selected editions of the 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland' or one of our varied e-books: https://www.socantscot.org/publications/

15/10/2026

NEWS: Society Publication Shortlisted for National Book Award

We are delighted that 'The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay: Excavations at the Centre of the Lordship of the Isles, 1989–1998' by Dr David Caldwell HonFSAScot has been shortlisted for The Saltires: https://www.socantscot.org/news/society-publication-shortlisted-for-national-book-award/

14/10/2026

NEWS: Growing Inequalities in Volunteering to be Tackled Through New Funding

We are thrilled to announce that the Make Your Mark in Volunteering campaign—a cross-sector partnership project hosted by the Society—has received just over £500,000 of funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and NatureScot to help a wider range of people volunteer at Scotland’s museums, historic sites, nature reserves, archives, parks, zoos and community organisations: https://www.socantscot.org/news/growing-inequalities-in-volunteering-to-be-tackled-through-new-funding/

09/10/2026

NEW SHAIR: ‘The SESOD Project: The Development of Oak Tree-Ring Chronologies for the Last Millennium in South-East Scotland’ by Coralie Mills FSAScot

Read the latest issue in the Scottish Historical and Archaeological Internet Reports (SHAIR), our peer-reviewed open access journal of reports and large-scale surveys conducted in Scotland: https://doi.org/10.9750/issn.2979-1170.2026.116

08/10/2026

Our October newsletter is now available 🍂

Click the link below to find out more about the upcoming SIRFA launch event, a brand-new draft chapter for the SW Scotland Archaeological Research Framework project, and updates on our final two regional research frameworks (North East Scotland Archaeological Research Framework and Forth Valley & Fife Archaeological Research Framework).

https://bit.ly/4ywzjXM

📷 Top: Participants of the SIRFA Symposium at Jarlshof, Shetland © ScARF; bottom left: Participants of the SWSARF workshop at Dumfries Museum © ScARF; bottom right: Excavating the Witch's Grave at Leaval Chambered Cairn as part of the Scotland's Earliest Megalithic Monuments project © Archaeology Scotland

07/10/2026

NEWS: New Impact Report Celebrates Recent Society Achievements

Highlights from the past year include over 56,000 downloads of our open access e-books, over £30,000 of grant funding awarded to research projects investigating aspects of Scotland’s past, and over 1,500 total online and in person attendees at our last public events programme.

Every year, we need to raise £1 million to continue this work across communities in Scotland, and we are indebted to our Fellows, funders and sponsors who have supported us over the past 12 months. Together, we have kept Scotland’s past alive and, with your support, will continue to help secure its future.

Read the report: https://www.socantscot.org/news/new-impact-report-celebrates-recent-society-achievements-june-2025-may-2026/

02/10/2026

The ReACH team will be at Brechin Cathedral on Saturday 10th October for our next open day.

Come along to visit the cathedral, join us for short talks by experts on medieval churches, the pictish stones and the stained glass at the cathedral, or take part in our family fun activities.

There will also be opportunities for you to share your memories of Brechin Cathedral as part of our Social Values oral history recording project. Perhaps you have memories of weddings, baptisms or services in the cathedral. Maybe you spent time here as a child, have family connections to the congregation, or remember the building from a particular moment in your life. We’re really excited to hear more about what Brechin cathedral means to you.

Whether your memories are recent or go back generations, we’d love you to come along and share your stories, explore the church and find out more about our work.

Brechin Cathedral - Saturday 10th October 11am-3pm

See the programme on our flyer, or visit our website for more details. https://churchheritage.scot/2026/08/31/event-share-your-memories-of-brechin-cathedral/

You can drop in at any point during the day, for as little or as long as you like. We hope to see you there.

Brechin Cathedral Trust

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ReACH is a collaboration between Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Scotland's Churches Trust, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland and Pilgrim Trust

Address

Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH11JF

Telephone

0131 247 4133

Website

http://www.socantscot.org/

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