Early Prehistory collections encompass Europe north of the Alps
and span at least 50,000 years, ranging from the Palaeolithic to
the end of the Bronze Age. Most of the items are from Scotland and
date to between the eighth and the first millennium BC; they
include objects of stone, pottery, bone, antler and wood.
Iron Age, Roman and Early Historic collections cover the period
from c.800BC – AD1100, the formative centuries of Scotland as a
nation.
The wide-ranging material in our Scottish history collections
includees military, numismatics, social history and applied arts,
as well as an extensive collection of dress and textiles. It is the
largest collection of its kind anywhere and aims to be a
comprehensive record of the life, times and achievements of the
people of Scotland at home and abroad.
Scottish History and Archaeology department
George Dalgleish: Keeper,
Scottish History and Archaeology
Responsible for: Responsible for the Department of
Scottish History and Archaeology, its staff, collections and
projects; Trustee of the Abbotsford Trust.
Research interests: Scottish silver, jewellery,
ceramics and pewter; material culture of the Jacobite period.
Email: g.dalgleish@nms.ac.uk
Dr Stuart Allan: Principal Curator, Scottish History (interim)
and Senior Curator, Military History
Responsible for:Interim overall responsibility for
the Scottish History sections. Responsibility for the military
collections from c.1600 to the present day: orders and medals,
military weapons, uniform, fine art, photographs and
documents.
Research interests: The Scottish military
tradition in the British armed forces; the material culture of
‘highland-ism’; the cultural symbolism of weapons; military
collectors and collecting practices; the culture of irregular
warfare; the material culture of popular patriotism during the
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Email: s.allan@nms.ac.uk
Dr Alison Sheridan: Head of Early Prehistory
Responsible for: The Early Prehistory section,
spanning the Palaeolithic to the end of the Bronze Age;
individually responsible for the Neolithic collections and human
remains, and co-ordination of Departmental radiocarbon dating
activities.
Research interests: Neolithic and Bronze Age
material culture, especially pottery, axeheads, jet, faience and
amber; Neolithisation; human remains; radiocarbon dating.
Email: a.sheridan@nms.ac.uk
You can find out more about Dr Alison
Sheridan here.
Dr Fraser Hunter: Principal Curator, Later Prehistoric, Roman
and Early Historic section
Responsible for: Iron Age and Roman
collections.
Research interests: Iron Age and Roman material
culture; decorative metalwork and Celtic art; jet and related
materials; interactions between Rome and the indigenous
population.
Email: f.hunter@nms.ac.uk
You can find out more about Dr Fraser
Hunter here.
Elaine M Edwards: Senior Curator, Rural Life
Responsible for: The collection
relating to all aspects of rural life in Scotland from c.1750 to
present day.
Research interests: The Women's Land Army in
Scotland during World War Two.
Email: e.edwards@nms.ac.uk
You can find out more about Elaine
Edwards here.
Dorothy Kidd: Senior Curator, Modern Scottish History
Responsible for: Social History
collections from c.1914 onwards, excluding the rural life
collections. This includes responsibility for the Scottish Life
Archive.
Research interests: Oral history, contemporary
recording and documentation.
Email: d.kidd@nms.ac.uk
Trevor Cowie: Senior Curator, Earlier Prehistory
Responsible for: Bronze Age
collections, departmental registration.
Research interests: Bronze Age metalwork and
metallurgy; Neolithic and Bronze Age ceramics; antiquarian
collections; archaeology of the Western Isles and Scottish
Borders.
Email: t.cowie@nms.ac.uk
You can find out more about Trevor
Cowie here.
David Forsyth: Senior Curator, Scottish Social History and
Diaspora
Responsible for: David’s
collections interests encompass Scottish social and cultural
material from c.1700-1900. He is particularly concerned with the
material culture of the Scottish Diaspora i.e. those of Scottish
origin who live outwith the borders of their native land. David
also continues to contribute to ongoing developments to the Art
Fund Prize-nominated Scotland: A Changing Nation gallery, so his
interests have now emerged from the long nineteenth century into
Scotland’s more recent past.
Research interests: Scottish national identity as
represented in objects; Scottish emigration – to anywhere; and the
history and material culture of religion in Scotland since
1560.
Email: d.forsyth@nms.ac.uk
Alan Saville: Senior Curator, Earliest Prehistory
Responsible for: All
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic material and shared responsibility with
the Principal Curator, Early Prehistory, for lithic artefacts of
the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
Research interests: Lithic technology and
typology; lithic acquisition in prehistory; earliest settlement of
Scotland; hunter-fisher-gatherer archaeology and anthropology;
history of archaeology and collecting; antiquities management and
legislation.
Email: a.saville@nms.ac.uk
You can find out more about Alan
Saville here.
Dr Martin Goldberg: Curator, Early Historic Period
Responsible for: Early Historic and Viking
collections.
Research interests: Material culture in Northern
Britain from Later Prehistory to the Early Historic period; Silver
– use and manufacture from Roman to Viking period; material culture
approaches to the holistic study of ancient religion and ritual
practice.
Email: m.goldberg@nms.ac.uk
Dr Mhairi Maxwell: Glenmorangie Research Officer
Responsible for: Glenmorangie
Research Project on Early Historic Scotland.
Research interests: Late Prehistoric and Early
Historic material culture, especially worked bone/antler, worked
stone, native pottery and Celtic Art; skeuomorphs; materiality
theory and the use of analytical scientific techniques for
understanding object biographies; contemporary art and craft
practice.
Email: m.maxwell@nms.ac.uk
You can find out more about Mhairi
Maxwell here.
Jackie Moran: Assistant Curator, Scottish History
Responsible for: Scottish
medieval collection and Scottish non-military weapons.
Research interests: Scottish jewellery.
Email: j.moran@nms.ac.uk
Jim Wilson: Assistant Curator
Responsible for: Co-ordinating and
supervising access to the department collections by visiting
scholars, students and TV crews; management of our collections
storage at four sites; maintenance of our displays in National
Museum of Scotland; support to all curators from Early Prehistory
and Later Prehistory sections whenever object movement is
required.
Email: jim.wilson@nms.ac.uk
Craig Angus: Assistant Curator
Responsible for: Graphic and digital
imaging for media/publication; co-ordinating department loans and
department photographic requests; maintenance of our displays in
National Museum of Scotland; support to all curators from Early
Prehistory and Later Prehistory sections whenever object movement
is required.
Email: c.angus@nms.ac.uk
Gemma Cruickshanks: Post-Excavation Officer
Responsible for: Post-excavation projects -
coordinating specialist work and writing reports.
Research interests: Material culture c.1000 BC –
AD 1000, particularly the development of ironworking and iron
objects throughout this period (part of on-going PhD
research).
Email: g.cruickshanks@nms.ac.uk
Vicky Brown: Assistant Curator (Temporary)
Responsible for: Supporting
curatorial activity for two WWI exhibitions due 2014; Next of Kin
and Homelands, the Scottish Empire at War. Curatorial support
across Scottish and Military History, Rural Life and Scottish Life
Archive.
Email: v.brown@nms.ac.uk
Adrienne Breingan: Assistant Curator (Temporary)
Responsible for: Providing curatorial support for
the Scottish History and Military History collections including
exhibitions, loans and enquiries.
Email: a.breingan@nms.ac.uk
Stuart Campbell: Manager, Treasure Trove Unit
Responsible for: Overall responsibility for the
Treasure Trove Unit.
Research interests: Material culture 1100-1800,
Medieval and later rural settlement, archaeologies of conflict and
ploughzone archaeology.
Email: s.campbell@nms.ac.uk
Tel: 0131 247 4355
You can find out more about Stuart
Campbell here.
Natasha Ferguson: Treasure Trove Unit
Officer/Administrator
Responsible for: Daily running of the Treasure
Trove unit, outreach.
Research interests: Conflict archaeology – in
particular the heritage management of battlefields and interactions
with metal detectorists, Early Modern material culture (1600-1800),
landscape archaeology, archaeology and education.
Email: n.ferguson@nms.ac.uk
Tel: 0131 247 4082
You can find out more about Natasha
Ferguson here.
Kerry Allan: Departmental Administrator
Responsible for: Enquiries, administration,
volunteer co-ordinating, department financial transactions.
Email: k.allan@nms.ac.uk
Tel: 0131 247 4217