Council of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Council of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland act as Trustees of the charity and is comprised of voluntary members who are all Fellows of the Society and are elected by the Fellowship during the Anniversary Meeting on the 30th November each year. As defined in the Laws, the Officers of the Council include the President, three Vice Presidents and the Treasurer and are elected for a term of three years, except the Treasurer who is elected every year. In addition, there are twelve Councillors who are also elected for three years, and at least four must stand down each year. Currently the three Vice Presidents each have a particular remit to help support the Society, including staff matters, Fellowship matters and external communications. The Chair of the Aberdeen and North-East Section is also a member of Council. The minutes of Society meetings are available on application to the Society offices.
The Council, as allowed by Law 15, have created five Committees to aid in the pursuance of its objectives: the Fellowship Committee, the Research Committee, Publications Committee, the Heritage Committee and the Programme Committee. There is also a Management Group.
The voluntary contributions of all Council members and Conveners of the various Committees are warmly appreciated by the Society and the staff. The following comprise the current Council:
President (elected for three years with year of election in brackets)
Alan Saville BA FSA MIfA (2011)
Alan is an archaeologist and prehistorian. He graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and worked for many years in England as a field archaeologist and lithic specialist before joining the staff of National Museums Scotland in 1989. He is best known from his early career for the total excavation of the Hazleton North Cotswold-Severn tomb in Gloucestershire and for his edited volume on the archaeology of that county. At NMS he has had various roles, as Head of the former Artefact Research Unit, as Head of the Treasure Trove Secretariat, and now as Senior Curator Earliest Prehistory. A firm supporter of the Society he has served as its Treasurer, Research Convenor, Publications Convenor, and Vice-President; he is currently Co-Chair of the ScARF Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Panel. While Research Convenor he inaugurated the Society's international period conferences with the Mesolithic conference in 1999 and, as Publications Convener, oversaw the establishment of the current very successful series of new-look monographs. Since coming to Edinburgh he has also served as Vice-President and President of the Council for Scottish Archaeology and as a member of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland. Outwith Scotland in recent years he has been a Trustee of the Council for British Archaeology, President of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Chair of the NERC Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Dating Service Steering Committee, and was for six years the Editor of the European Journal of Archaeology, in which capacity he sat on the Executive Board of the European Association of Archaeologists. His most recent publication is an edited volume on Flint and Stone in the Neolithic Period (Oxbow 2011) and he is currently co-editing a monograph on flint-mines in Europe.
Vice Presidents (elected for three years with year of election in brackets)
Neil Curtis MA MLitt AMA (2010)
Neil is Head of Museums and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Anthropology in the University of Aberdeen, having previously been Senior Curator of the university's Marischal Museum. He studied Archaeology (Glasgow), Museum Studies (Leicester) and Education (Aberdeen) and has particular research interests in museum practices and the history of Scottish museums and archaeology. He was a Council Member of the Society between 2003 and 2006, and has been Secretary of the Aberdeen and North-East Section since 1990. He is also Convenor of University Museums in Scotland and is a member of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Advisory Panel.
Antoinette "Twin" Watkins BA(Hons) (2011)
Twin graduated in 1960 from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and has had a career of almost 40 years in Museums. She was a curator in Liverpool Museums before moving to Scotland with her husband Trevor Watkins, with whom she has collaborated on numerous excavations. After a career break to have a family, she worked as a freelance curator mainly for the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and from 1989 for the National Museums of Scotland on many major exhibitions. For the last seven years before retirement she worked as the Exhibitions Co-ordinator for the Museum of Scotland. She has been a Fellow of the Society since 1979 and in the past has worked for the Society, organising excursions, lectures and conferences, and served on Council from 1995-1998.
Ann MacSween MA(Hons) MA MSc PhD FSA MIfA MRTPI (2012)
Ann is an archaeologist and planner. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in Archaeology and then completed an MA in Scientific Methods in Archaeology at the University of Bradford. After a year working for the British Council on an exhibition on the British Neolithic and Bronze Age for the town of Tournai in Belgium, she returned to Bradford to undertake research for a PhD on analysis of the pottery from the site of Pool, Sanday, Orkney. She subsequently worked in the commercial sector with AOC Archaeology then with the University of Dundee where she co-edited a series of textbooks on modern Scottish History. Since 1999 she has worked for Historic Scotland and is currently Head of Strategic Heritage Management. Recently she completed an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning at Heriot Watt University. Throughout her career she has maintained her interest in prehistoric pottery from Scotland. She was a member of the Society's Council from 1992 to 1995, Co-ordinating Editor for volume 121 of the Proceedings, Publications Committee Convener from 1997 to 1999 and member of the Editorial Board of the Publications Committee from 1992 to 2004.
Treasurer (elected each year, first year of election in brackets)
Stephen Carter BSc PhD MIfA (2012)
Stephen is a Senior Consultant with Headland Archaeology, based in Edinburgh. Doctoral research in Environmental Archaeology at the University of London Institute of Archaeology was followed by a move to Scotland in 1989 where he initially worked on specialist analyses of archaeological sediments. With the creation of Headland Archaeology in 1996, his role shifted to archaeological project management, focussing on Environmental Impact Assessment; his current workload is dominated by consultancy for onshore wind energy developments throughout the UK. Away from his professional employment he has served on the governing bodies of various archaeological organisations. This has included a recent three-year term on the Council of this Society; he has also been a Trustee of the Council for British Archaeology and was President of Archaeology Scotland for two terms.
Councillors (elected for three years with year of election in brackets)
Ian Simpson BSc PhD (2010)
Ian is Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Stirling, and currently Deputy Principal (Research and Knowledge Exchange). His expertise is in the history of soils and sediments, contributing new understandings of land resource utilisation by early societies and related landscape changes. He has researched extensively in the North Atlantic region including Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Faroe, as well as in south and west Asia (Sri Lanka and Iran). He has also been involved in rescue archaeology and 'preservation by record' where archaeological sites and landscapes are threatened by development and has contributed to the research agendas of World Heritage Sites. At a strategic and governance level he is involved in the AHRC-EPSRC Science and Heritage programme, research pooling initiatives across the Scottish Universities and the North Atlantic Biocultural Organisation.
Mary MacLeod Rivett MA MA PhD MIfA (2010)
Mary was born in 1964 and, following a childhood in England and Canada, read Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. From 1986 to 1990, she worked in field archaeology in Britain, and acquired an MA in Mediaeval Studies at the University of York. From 1991 to 1996, she was resident in Stockholm, working on excavations at the Viking town of Birka, and on a part-time PhD at the University of Glasgow, awarded in 1999, on the subject of Viking period urbanism. In 1998, she was appointed as Regional Archaeologist in the Western Isles, for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, a post which she left in 2009. Since that time, she has worked as a part-time lecturer in archaeology for Lews Castle College, part of the UHI Millennium Institute, and part-time crofter. She has served previously as a Council Member. Recent publications include reports on the STAC project, and excavations on Barabhas Machair in Lewis.
Alice Blackwell BA MPhil (2010)
Alice works for the National Museums Scotland as the Glenmorangie Research Officer, a post created through the ongoing research partnership with Glenmorangie. Her research interests cover all types of material culture from the early historic British Isles, but primarily focus on sculpture and small finds. Other interests include the role of the senses, experience and ritual, and working with contemporary artists and craftspeople to better understand archaeological remains. Alice was appointed to this post in July 2008 and currently sits on the ScARF Medieval Panel. Prior to this she studied for her PhD (currently in preparation) on the Anglo-Saxon small finds from Scotland, and was awarded an MPhil with Distinction in Archaeological Studies, both at the University of Glasgow. Before this she read History at the University of Leeds.
Judith McClure CBE MA DPhil FRSA (2010)
Following a career as lecturer in Medieval Latin in the University of Liverpool and in Medieval History at the University of Oxford, teacher and Head of History at the School of S. Helen and S. Katherine, Abingdon, Assistant Head of Kingswood School, Bath and Head of both The Royal School, Bath, and St George's School for Girls, Edinburgh, Judith is very interested in exploring further the Society's engagement with the education sector. She has extensive experience of corporate governance, including as Trustee of Hopetoun House Preservation Trust, Chair of the Management Committee of Scottish Council of Independent Schools and member of the Heriot-Watt University Court, as well as being a member of the RSE Education Committee.
Unfortunately Dr McClure resigned from the Council in 2012 citing the pressure of other commitments. She remains a Fellow and a strong advocate of the Society and has pledged her support for Council on an ad-hoc basis, particularly in relation to developing the Society's role in the education sphere.
Jonathan Wordsworth MA (2011)
Jonathan is Rural Land Use Adviser with Archaeology Scotland, promoting the better protection and appreciation of Scotland's historic environment in the Scottish countryside. He is currently a Director of the Built Environment Forum Scotland and the Scottish representative of the EAA Working Group on Farming, Forestry and Rural Land Use. Following an MA in History /Religious Studies from Aberdeen University he worked for 25 years in field archaeology including four years directing excavations at UAU (predecessor to SUAT) and ten years running his own freelance consultancy in the Highlands, before taking up his present job in 1998.
Beverley Ballin Smith BEd MA FSA MIfA (2011)
Beverley gained university degrees from (Warwick University and the London University's Institute of Archaeology), and moved to Orkney where she worked as an archaeologist for thirteen years. This was followed by a seven year period in Denmark and Norway with archaeological work there and in Sweden. She has over the last fourteen years been actively involved in Scottish commercial archaeology (formerly as post-excavation manager with GUARD, University of Glasgow), with research (with St Andrews and Stirling University on the Papa Project, and on her own Viking pottery project), and with community archaeology (the partial reconstruction of a Norse building on the island of Papa Stour, Shetland with Barbara Crawford; the Norwegian Crafts Development and the Papa Stour History Group), and has an advisory role with the Applecross Broch team and with SPEAR in South Ronaldsay, Orkney. She has lectured and published widely on archaeological sites and artefacts. She is a member of the IfA Council and Executive, being the Honorary Chair for Groups and Membership, and sits on the Validation Committee. In addition to this she continues to teach short courses in History and Archaeology, and Historical Geography at the Scottish Agricultural College. Beverley is currently undertaking a detailed assessment of the extensive Udal archives from sites dug by Iain Crawford on North Uist from 1963-1994, which will hopefully lead to eventual publication of the project.
James Mearns BSc(Hons) MSc (2011)
James is a graduate of Glasgow University Archaeology Department in 1982. His career has mostly been in Government, from the Ancient Monuments Division of the old Scottish Office, through a Civil Service Fast Stream appointment to the Department of Transport in London. This was followed by a move to Strathclyde Regional Council Roads Department where he gained a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at Strathclyde University in 1997. More recently he has been employed in various roles within Glasgow City Council. He has retained his archaeological interest through membership of this Society but mainly through his involvement with Glasgow Archaeological Society. A member of Council of GAS for several years he was involved in organising a number of one-day conferences on topics such as Science and Archaeology. He had the privilege of being President during the Society's 150th Anniversary year. As an important outcome from that year he was able to help the Society begin a programme of excavation and survey in Pollok Park. His main excavation experience has been on Roman sites, both on the Antonine Wall and in central Italy. He will bring the enthusiasm of an informed amateur and an expertise in the role of Government to the work of the Council.
Vanessa Habib BA MPhil (2011)
Vanessa trained as a textile designer at the University of Leeds, taught at the University of Bradford and held the Drapers Fellowship there and later worked as a designer of textiles and ceramics. After moving to Edinburgh in 1980 she concentrated on researching the history of textiles in Scotland, particularly the Early Modern period, but is also interested in Coptic textiles. She is currently working on bleachfields and the history of dyeing and printing in Scotland. She is a member of CIETA (Centre International D'Etude Des Textiles Anciens).
Anna Groundwater PhD FRHistS (2012)
Anna is an early modern Scottish and British historian at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently Post-doctoral Research Fellow on the AHRC project 'Ben Jonson's Walk to Scotland, 1618', and lectures on Scottish and British history courses. Her research interests focus on government and society in the reign of James VI and I, with particular interests in the Union of the Crowns, and the history of the Anglo-Scottish Borders. She is the author of The Scottish Middle March, 1573-1625: power, kinship, allegiance (Royal History Society, Boydell, 2010), a number of journal articles, and of the forthcoming Scotland Connected: Scotland in the wider world, a comparative timeline for Scottish history (Luath Press, 2013). She is also working on an edition of early seventeenth century political correspondence to be published by the Scottish History Society. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a council member of the Scottish History Society (to 2013), and a Trustee of The Scottish Medievalists (to 2015), where she is involved in engaging with heritage institutions, and other educationalists in promoting and preserving Scotland's history.
Iain Fraser MA(Hons) PhD (2012)
Iain studied History at Edinburgh University (MA(Hons) 1984), followed by a PhD, on ‘The later medieval burgh kirk of St Nicholas, Aberdeen' (1991). Since 1991 he has worked for RCAHMS in a variety of roles, firstly as a curator in the National Monuments Record of Scotland, and later on secondment as field investigator in a number of survey projects, in particular Eastern Dumfriesshire, Canna, and Donside, and OS revision work in Lanarkshire, West Lothian and Strathearn. Returning to the archival side of RCAHMS, in 1997 Iain became Curator of Archaeological Collections, and in 2011, Cataloguing Programme Manager in the Collections Section. As a result of this experience he has particular interest in the archival aspects of archaeological investigation and of architectural practices, and is currently studying archiving through CAIS, University of Dundee. Scottish interests cover a range of subjects, including ecclesiastical history and archaeology, bricks and brickworks, agricultural improvements, watermeadows and irrigation, and siege warfare. He is currently working upon a corpus of medieval funerary monuments in Scotland.
Chris Dalglish MA(Hons) PhD (2012)
Chris is a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Glasgow, the institution where he studied as an undergraduate and where he researched his PhD. Following his PhD, Chris worked in professional archaeology and heritage management, first as a freelance field archaeologist, then for Historic Scotland and latterly for Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division. He has held his current post since 2007. Chris has a background in post-medieval archaeology, with a particular interest in Scottish rural landscapes and issues of theory and practice relating to the Modern past. He was co-chair of the ScARF panel for the Modern period. His current work involves collaborative research relating to landscape and heritage policy, practice and philosophy, and he is developing teaching in this field as convenor of a new MSc in Landscape: Integrated Research & Practice.
Tom Dawson BA(Hons) (2012)
Tom is a Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews. He started his archaeological career with the Museum of London and went on to work on and direct excavations in several different countries (including France, Sri Lanka, Italy and Japan). Since coming to Scotland in 2000, his work has focused on coastal archaeology and the threats posed by coastal processes. He works closely with Historic Scotland to gather information on the scale of the problem; and has analyzed results from coastal surveys in order to prioritize action. He also has a strong interest in community archaeology and is currently directing the Scotland's Coastal Heritage at Risk Project. This innovative national project employs mobile technology that allows members of the public to update information about priority sites. Tom has managed numerous survey and excavation projects, and his community excavations, include Unst and Bressay on Shetland, Baile Sear in the Western Isles and Brora in Sutherland. These projects were jointly awarded the 2012 Current Archaeology Rescue Dig of the Year Award. He has also explored novel ways of working with threatened archaeological sites, including relocating the eroding Bressay site to the local Heritage Centre and using virtual reality environments to recreate the salt pans at Brora. Tom has been the Managing Director of The SCAPE Trust (Scottish Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion) since 2001; was appointed Commissioner with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in 2010; and was a director of the Bardsey Island Trust from 2003 to 2008.
Committee Convenors (appointed for five years with year of appointment in brackets)
Heritage Committee - Neil Curtis MA MLitt AMA (2010)
Fellowship Committee - Antoinette "Twin" Watkins BA(Hons) (2011)
Programme Committee - Brendan O'Connor BA DPhil FSA (8 October 2012)
Research Committee - Shannon M Fraser MA Dip.Post-Ex. PhD MIfA (2009)
Publications Committee - David Caldwell MA PhD (21 May 2012)
Chair of the Aberdeen and North-East Section (elected for three years with year of election in brackets)
Finlay McKichan (9 May 2012)
National Museums Scotland Representative (nominated by the Trustees of the NMS)
Fraser Hunter BSc PhD FSA (2005)
Patron and Honorary Fellows
