Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body in Scotland, with its headquarters, collections, archive, and lecture theatre in the Royal Museum, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural and heritage of Scotland.

History

The Society was established in 1780, and is the oldest antiquarian society in Scotland, and the second-oldest in Britain after the Society of Antiquaries of London. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1783, on the same day as the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and initially both societies shared accommodation on George Street and in the Royal Institution building on The Mound. In 1891 the antiquaries moved into the purpose-built National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, located on Queen Street. The society moved to the National Museum of Scotland in 1954, and the Queen Street building became the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Alexander Rhind left a bequest to the Society to fund a lecture series, the Rhind Lectures are still hosted by the Society; an audio file has been made available to the public since 2009.

Objects

As an archaeological and learned society it was formed for the purpose of studying the history of Scotland, as set out in the first of its Laws:

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 an impartial voice 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 the Council for Scottish Archaeology (CSA) and the Scottish Group of the Institute for Archaeologists. The Society works closely with the Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland, and has given 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.

Fellowship

Fellowship is regarded as a sign of recognition as an established scholar, and fellows are permitted to use the post-nominals FSA Scot.. The Society has an international membership of around 3500 Fellows and 25 Honorary Fellows. Admission to the Society is by election, and candidates must be proposed and seconded by existing Fellows. The names of those seeking admission are then circulated to the whole Fellowship. Elections are held annually on St Andrews Day, 30 November. Fundamental to being a candidate for election to the Fellowship is an interest or involvement in historical studies. Candidates are advised of the outcome of the election shortly after the ballot.

Sponsorship of research

A major part of the Society's programme is the sponsorship of research, and there are various grants and awards to assist different kinds of work, from survey and excavation to finds analysis and archival research. The entrance fees paid by new Fellows on election to the Society are invested to help increase the Research Fund.

Publications

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

• Books, previously known as monographs, covering a wide variety of topics in the history and archaeology of Scotland.

• The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (ISSN 0081-1564), a yearly peer-reviewed journal covering the latest archaeological research in Scotland. The Society has made the entire run of the Proceedings since 1851, and its predecesssor Arcaeologica Scotica back to 1792, freely available on the internet.

• Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports (SAIR, ISSN 1473-3803) is a peer-reviewed 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 (ISSN 0960-703X), and the Society publishes book reviews on their website.

External links

• Society of Antiquaries of Scotland website
• The Society Of Antiquaries Of Scotland Scanning Project, including the online archive of the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
• Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports