Museum reopening
Our museums are now open and tickets are available to book. We can't wait to welcome you back.
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Our 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 includes military, numismatics and social history. 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.
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Dr Stuart Allan: KeeperResponsible for: The Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, its staff, projects and collections. |
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Dr Fraser Hunter: Principal Curator of Prehistoric and Roman ArchaeologyResponsible for: The Prehistory section, Iron Age and Roman collections. You can find out more about Dr Fraser Hunter here. |
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Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark: Senior Curator, Early PrehistoryResponsible for: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic collections. You can find out more about Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark here. |
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Dr Matthew Knight: Senior Curator, Early PrehistoryResponsible for: Chalcolithic and Bronze Age collections You can find out more about Dr Matthew Knight here. |
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Jim Wilson: Assistant Curator, Early PrehistoryResponsible for: Co-ordinating and supervising access to the Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology collections by visiting scholars, students and TV crews; maintenance of our displays in the Early People Gallery at National Museum of Scotland; facilitating temporary loan requests from borrowing museums for exhibitions. |
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Dr Gemma Cruickshanks: Post-Excavation OfficerDr Gemma Cruickshanks is currently on maternity leave Responsible for: Post-excavation projects – coordinating specialist work and writing reports. You can find our more about Post-excavation service here. |
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Dr Martin Goldberg: Principal Curator of Medieval Archaeology and HistoryResponsible for: Early Historic and Viking collections. |
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Dr Alice Blackwell: Senior Curator, Medieval Archaeology & HistoryResponsible for: Late medieval collections. You can find out more about Dr Alice Blackwell here. |
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Craig Angus: Assistant Curator, Medieval Archaeology and HistoryResponsible 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. |
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Dr Adrián Maldonado: Glenmorangie Research FellowResponsible for: Undertaking and promoting research on early medieval Scotland as part of the Glenmorangie Research Project Phase 4: Creating Scotland, which began in March 2018. This covers objects from the National Collection dated 9-12th centuries AD. Adrián contributes to outreach and research relating to early medieval Scotland more broadly, in support of the Medieval Archaeology section. You can find out more about the Glenmorangie Research Project here. |
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Dr Anna Groundwater: Principal Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern HistoryResponsible for: the Renaissance and Early Modern section’s collections of the material culture and history of Scotland from c.1450-1750. This encompasses the Scottish Renaissance, applied arts, Scottish weaponry, early modern history, society and culture. Most notably the collections include material relating to Mary, Queen of Scots material; Scotland’s post-Reformation religious and ecclesiastical history, including the Covenanters; the Union of the Crowns, the Darien Project, and the Anglo-Scottish union of 1707; clarsachs; and Scottish carved woodwork. This section has particular responsibility for Kingdom of the Scots and Scotland Transformed, on Levels 1-3 of the Scotland galleries. You can find out more about Dr Anna Groundwater here. |
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Lyndsay McGill: Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern HistoryResponsible for: Collection from the early Stuart kings to the Enlightenment including: applied arts, numismatics, horology as well as objects surrounding Mary Queen of Scots, the Jacobites and the Scottish church post 1560. |
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Jackie Moran: Assistant Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern HistoryResponsible for: Supporting the work of the Renaissance and Early Modern History section; co-ordinating and supervising access to the Renaissance and Early Modern collections; maintenance of the displays on Levels 0-3 in the Scotland galleries of the National Museum of Scotland; facilitating outward loans to borrowing museums for exhibitions |
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David Forsyth: Principal Curator of Modern and Contemporary HistoryResponsible for: the management and overall curation of the section’s collections and curators which cover the material culture and history of Scotland from 1750 to the present day. This encompasses the Enlightenment, industrialisation, the Scots abroad, social and political developments and our rural life and military collections. This section has particular responsibility for the collections on display on Levels 4-6 of the Scotland galleries of the National Museum of Scotland. The section’s collections can also be seen at the National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle and the National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride. |
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Dorothy Kidd: Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary HistoryResponsible for: Social History collections from 1750 to the present including: domestic and community life; sport and leisure; vernacular furniture; building materials, fixtures and fittings; areas of the traditional craft and trade collections and artefacts relating to business and finance. Also responsible for the maintenance of the Scottish Life Archive’s search facility. You can find out more about Dorothy Kidd here. |
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Dr Sarah Laurenson: Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary HistoryResponsible for: Contemporary collecting, with a focus on objects that reflect political, social and cultural developments in Scotland over the last 10 years, and jewellery from 1750 to the present day. You can find out more about Dr Sarah Laurenson here. |
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Dr Calum Robertson: Curator, Modern and Military HistoryResponsible for: Scottish history collections covering the period c.1830 to c.1918; military collections from c.1750 to the present; oversight of the bagpiping collections. |
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Vicky Brown: Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary HistoryResponsible for: Supporting curatorial activity across the Scottish Modern & Contemporary History Section, with an emphasis on those collections from c.1918 to the present day. Vicky also works with our military history collections at the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle. |
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Ailsa Hutton, Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary HistoryResponsible for: Supporting all curatorial activity across the Scottish Modern & Cotemporary History Section, with an emphasis on those collections from 1750 to c.1918. |
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Rosanne Waine: Postdoctoral ResearcherResponsible for: Research associated with ‘Reclaiming Romance: highland dress and the material culture of the Highland Revival, c.1750- c.1900’, a four-year project funded by the William Grant Foundation. The aim of this project is to survey and reinterpret the tartan and Highland dress collections held by National Museums Scotland, interrogating aspects such as materials, dating, appropriate categorisation, and past ownership. You can find out more about the Reclaiming Romance project here. |
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Dr Henrietta Lidchi: Research Fellow, AHRC Baggage & Belonging Military Collections and the British Empire (1750-1900)Responsible for: From 2017-2020 Dr Henrietta Lidchi is seconded as the Principal Investigator on the AHRC funded project 'Baggage and Belonging: Military Collections and the British Empire (1750-1900)'. She is working on this project with her Co-investigator Stuart Allan in the Department of Scottish History and Archaeology. You can find out more about Henrietta Lidchi here. |
Treasure Trove |
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Emily Freeman: Treasure Trove ManagerResponsible for: Daily running of the Treasure Trove Unit operation, outreach. |
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Ella Paul: Treasure Trove OfficerResponsible for: Daily running of the Treasure Trove Unit operation, outreach. Find out more about Ella Paul.
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Sophie Flynn: Treasure Trove OfficerResponsible for: Daily running of the Treasure Trove Unit operation, outreach. |
Laura Kondrataite
Departmental Administrator
Tel: 0131 247 4217
SHA.enquiries@nms.ac.uk
Our museums are now open and tickets are available to book. We can't wait to welcome you back.