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Lecture
Re-framing Mary: audience-focused collecting and display
During the life of the RSE project, and following the acquisition of the Mary Queen of Scots casket, National Museums Scotland re-framed the narrative it tells of Mary in the Chambers Street museum. This talk explores the museum’s role in mediating narratives of Mary’s life and impact, to argue that...Groundwater, Anna
casket, material culture, Mary, Queen of Scots, and museum collecting, interpretation and display
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Lecture
'The Viking-age Reuse of Insular Metalwork From Northern Britain'
The looting of Christian shrines and reliquaries in the Viking Age is so well-documented that it has been reduced to a cartoonish vision of pillaging heathens. A close look at the evidence for such ‘looting’ tells a different story – or rather a number of different stories. A recent reassessment... -
Lecture
Feasting with Latinus: the earliest Christians of Whithorn
The excavations led by the late Peter Hill at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway are widely understood as revealing one of the earliest monasteries in Britain. New analysis and dating evidence by the Cold Case Whithorn project is forcing a rethink of the earliest phases of the sequence. A poorly-understood late... -
Lecture
Displaying ‘National’ Antiquities in the mid-19th century: Scotland, England and Ireland
This lecture will compare the mid-19th century classification and display strategies of the museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland with the British Museum and the museum of the Royal Irish Academy. Museum displays ‘perform’ meaning through labels, catalogues and physical arrangements. A comparison of such displays reveals the...Holder, Julie
classification and display strategies, Ireland, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, England, 19th century, British Museum, Royal Irish Academy, and Scotland
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Lecture
David Ramsay, the King’s Chief Clockmaker
This lecture is presented by Dr Tacye Phillipson (National Museums Scotland) and Dr John C. Taylor OBE (horologist and inventor), and delivered in conjunction with the National Museums Scotland. Dr Phillipson provides an overview of the variety and development of clockwork during the 17th century. Dr Taylor uncovers the innovation...Phillipson, Tacye ; Taylor, John C
David Ramsay, c1585-1660, master, Worshipful Clockmakers Company, London , Chief Clockmaker, clockwork , Scottish watchmaker, and King James I and VI
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Lecture
Hamilton Palace and the Dukes of Hamilton and their Collections
The speaker, Dr Godfrey Evans is part of the Virtual Hamilton Palace trust which is digitally recreating the house and its collections. According to the trust’s website: ‘During the nineteenth century, the 10th Duke's collecting activities made the Palace internationally famous, a veritable treasure trove of amazing paintings, furniture and...Evans, Godfrey
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Lecture
The Calton Hill Observatories and their Edinburgh Audiences
This talk takes a look at the history of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, and the longer story of popular astronomy on its Calton Hill site. Rather than focusing solely on the astronomers, it will widen the scope to those who supported, used and otherwise experienced the work of these observatories...Higgitt, Rebekah
Calton Hill, Edinburgh, popular astronomy , and Royal Observatory Edinburgh
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Lecture
A temple for the sun-god: remarkable finds from Roman Inveresk
Dr Fraser Hunter, Principle Curator of Iron Age and Roman Collections at the National Museum of Scotland, returns to the 1722 Waggonway Heritage Centre to give a lecture on the Roman finds at Inveresk, including clues which point to a Temple of Mithras.Hunter, Fraser
Mithras, Roman Scotland, stone altar , and Inveresk
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Lecture
Highland dress and fashionable culture in Georgian Britain
Fashion and textile historian Dr Rosie Waine tells the story of the remarkable transformation of Highland dress from warrior culture to the colourful world of fashion in Georgian Britain. A REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATION As a living tradition, Highland dress is deeply rooted in the history of Scotland. Once associated with the...Waine, Rosie
fashion , Highland dress, material culture, and Georgian Scotland
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Lecture
St Moluag's Monastery on Lismore - a Rival to St Columba's Monastery on Iona
Community excavation on Lismore has identified an Early Christian monastic site which includes an enclosed cemetery, one oval stone building and evidence for a specialised craft workshop area in which fine pieces of jewellery and other intricately decorated objects were made, antler was worked, leather was embossed and stone was...Ellis, Clare ; Cruickshanks, Gemma
Isle of Lismore, St. Moluag, monastic site, Pictish settlement, Christian missionary, archaeological research, and community excavation
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Lecture
Geology to jewellery: sourcing and crafting Scottish metals and gems in the nineteenth century
From the late eighteenth century, jewellers in Scotland used precious metals and colourful stone to craft little luxuries that were bought, gifted and worn by men, women and children. This paper explores how jewellers and lapidaries responded and contributed to developing knowledge about geology and mineralogy through the things they...Laurenson, Sarah
jewellery, geology, jewellers, mineralogy, precious stones, lapidaries, and Scotland
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Lecture
The Galloway Hoard
As part of Glasgow’s Doors Open Festival, organised by Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, Dr Martin Goldberg will be coming to talk to us about the Galloway Hoard! Martin is Senior Curator, Early Medieval and Viking Collections at National Museums Scotland and a long-time supporter of the Govan Stones Project.Goldberg, Martin
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Lecture
The Power of Glass
The conference will examine the artistic movements prevailing during that period and frame modern and contemporary glass art as a global phenomenon.Kelly, Jessamy ; Rothwell, Sarah
glass art, modern, and contemporary
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Lecture
Decolonial futures for ancestral remains in Scotland Forum
In Edinburgh University’s Anatomical Museum, there are nearly 1700 ancestral remains displaced from over 55 countries across the world. Often former students stole these people from burial grounds and battlefields and sent them to anatomy professors in Scotland. Taken illicitly, their descendants are often unaware that their ancestors still reside...Alberti, S J M M
Edinburgh, anatomy , repatriation, museum collections, Aberdeen, colonial legacies, and provenance
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Lecture
Scottish agate collecting through the lens of the National Museums Scotland collection
Agates have fascinated people for thousands of years and have particular cultural relevance for Scotland through their use creating pebble jewellery. This talk will cover agate formation, why Scotland is so prolific for agate hunting and show some of the best agate collecting locations through the lens of the significant...Brown, Emily
Scottish agates, mineral collections, and National Museum of Scotland
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Lecture
Moray's Contribution to Pangaea and Triassic Park
Join Dr Nick Fraser as he explored Moray's Contribution to Pangaea and Triassic Park. The Triassic was a critical time for the evolution of life on Earth. This period witnessed the first appearance of some of the most successful animals that ever lived, including lizards, dinosaurs, turtles and crocodilians, the...Fraser, Nicholas C
fossils, Elgin reptiles, palaeontology, Triassic period, and evolution
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Lecture
Buying Power: British Archaeology and the Antiquities Market in Egypt and Sudan 1880–1939
Where did the ancient Egyptian collections in National Museums Scotland come from? How did they get here? Join Dr Dan Potter to discover the untold stories behind these enduringly popular collections. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries museums and individuals competed to collect the ‘best’ ancient Egyptian objects.... -
Lecture
The Crack of Doom: Viking-Age hoards before the hacksilver horizon
Viking-age hacksilver hoards (c. 880 – 1050) consist mainly of silver bullion, attesting to the rise of a metal-weight market economy. However, across Britain, there is a brief window of time in which the rate of hoard deposition begins to accelerate, but before hacksilver becomes the dominant component. In light...Maldonado, Adrián
Galloway Hoard, Cheshire hoards, Chester, Wirral, Early Medieval , and Viking Age
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Lecture
XRF Analysis, Alva cobalt, West Pans and Longton Hall Porcelain
Research conducted in 1993 by Middleton & Cowell at the British Museum suggests that cobalt used to decorate porcelain from William Littler’s venture at Longton Hall (1749-60) was chemically distinct from that used by him while at West Pans (1764-77). They considered that at least some West Pans cobalt was...Haggarty, George R ; Jones , Richard
Longton Hall , XRF analysis, Scottish ceramic collections, cobalt porcelain decoration, William Littler, West Pans, and Alva silver mines
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Lecture
Materialising the Scottish Renaissance at National Museums Scotland
Dr Groundwater will talk about the material objects relating to the Renaissance.Groundwater, Anna
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Lecture
Public History Roundtable contribution
The Renaissance and Early Modern Research Alliance (REMRA) promotes co-operation and cross-disciplinary research across the various centres and institutes of the University of the Highlands and Islands. The group is convened by Dr Kathrin Zickermann (UHI Centre for History) and consists of c.20 members of staff (including visiting professors and...Groundwater, Anna
Renaissance and Early Modern , Research Alliance, collaboration, and material culture
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Lecture
Beyond Picts and Vikings: Northern mainland Scotland 800-1100
Adrian Maldonado speaking about the artefacts and carved stones from the end of the Pictish period and Viking Age in the northern mainland. This is a re-recording of a talk given person at Strathpeffer on 28th October 2023 for NOSAS's 25th anniversary celebrations.Maldonado, Adrián
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Lecture
Collecting and Curating Southeast Asian Art: In Conversation
This conversation between the two curators, Alexandra Green and Rosanna Nicolson, celebrates two exhibitions focusing on Southeast Asian art–“Burma to Myanmar” and “Theravada Buddhism”–concurrently showing at The British Museum and at National Museums of Scotland respectively. It highlights issues related to the formation of Asian art collections in the UK,... -
Lecture
Fair Isle Knitting: origins and authenticity
Curated by Philip Fimmano as part of New York Textile Month, this special online conference brings together speakers from around the globe, continuing our dedication to textile creativity and education by offering this exciting programme free to all students and teaching faculty.Wyld, Helen
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Lecture
Mineralogy of the Mobile phone
Did you know that mobile phones use over fifty different chemical elements to work? Where do these come from and how are they used?Walcott, Rachel
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Lecture
The radiation of Nesospiza finches on the Tristan da Cunha Islands seminar
Ask anyone interested in birds for an example of adaptive radiations, and they will probably mention the Darwin’s Finches, the evolutionary rock stars of the Galápagos Islands. But did you know about the Nesospiza finches, endemic to Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic? Tristan is a small and very...Stervander , Martin
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Lecture
Skeleton Keys: Using Archaeology to Unlock Whithorn's Past’
For five years archaeologists have been investigating evidence of early medieval life in Whithorn. Now they can disclose some of the exciting insights they've achieved, bringing the past closer than ever before. What scientists and archaeologists are unearthing will revolutionise our understanding of the origins and spread of Christianity in...Maldonado, Adrián ; Curtis-Summers, Shirley
Early Medieval Scotland, Christianity , Whithorn, archaeology, and digital visualisation
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Lecture
Putting metalwork in its place. An analysis of the Late Bronze Age and Earliest Iron Age finds from Somerset
An analysis of the Late Bronze Age and Earliest Iron Age finds from Somerset. During the Late Bronze Age and Earliest Iron Age (c.1150-600 BC), many bronze and gold objects were buried across Europe. This lecture will explore the meanings of metalwork deposition through the evidence from Somerset and investigate...Knight, Matthew G
Bronze Age, metal dispositionb, Somerset, finds, bronze , Iron Age , and gold
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Lecture
War and diplomacy on the northern frontier: the impact of Rome on south-west Scotland and beyond
The story of Roman Scotland often gets told from the Roman point of view, with a focus on the army and its actions. But the legions did not simply march into an empty landscape. The Iron Age peoples of Scotland reacted to this invasion in many different ways, from outright...Hunter, Fraser
Roman Scotland, Iron Age, societies, fortifications, and frontiers
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Lecture
‘Some finds “of more than ordinary interest”: Exploring small socketed axeheads from northern Britain’
In 2019 a miniature bronze socketed axehead was discovered near Morebattle, Scottish Borders. These enigmatic finds are rare in northern Britain and are often considered to date anywhere from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period. The discovery at Morebattle prompted a research project analysing unusually small socketed axeheads... -
Lecture
Old Kilpatrick in Early Christian Strathclyde
A church stood at Old Kilpatrick in the 12th century, but its origins are certainly much older. Its name and dedication are suggestive of an early medieval foundation, supported by the presence of 'Govan Style' sculpture found locallyMaldonado, Adrián
Old Kilpatrick, Early Medieval Scotland, early Christianity , Govan Stones , and Kingdom of Strathclyde
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Lecture
Waking the Dead: Inside the insect collection at National Museums Scotland
The phrase “insect collection” often conjures up images of Victorian naturalists chasing down rare butterflies with their nets and attaches a stigma to these important resources. The insect collections held in our museums are a vital resource for understanding how species are related to one another and how they are...Whiffin, Ashleigh
curatorial role, scientific research, insect collections, entomological specimens, National Museums Scotland, and National Museums Collection Centre
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Lecture
The Galloway Hoard: Why are there textiles in a Viking Age Hoard
Dr Susanna Harris will be speaking about her work on the Textiles of the Galloway Hoard. Susanna will be talking about her analysis and research of the textile components of this spectacular discovery, drawing on her AHRC funded project – in collaboration with the National Museum of Scotland – Unwrapping...Harris, Susanna
analytical discoveries, textiles, Galloway Hoard, wool, plant fibre and silk textiles, and research project