A wide strip of polished silver with a smooth top edge and a scalloped bottom edge. There are old letters engraved the full length of the piece bordered by engraved patterns.
Departments

Scottish History & Archaeology

Welcome to the Scottish History & Archaeology department.

We care for one of the most representative national collections of archaeological and historical artefacts anywhere in the world.

Nearly 250 years of systematic collecting has built a material record of the place we now call Scotland, placed within its wider European and global contexts.

Contact list of staff members

Our collections

The collections have been developed over generations through antiquarian collecting, chance finds, archaeological excavation, targeted purchases, donations of treasured family possessions and dedicated efforts to collect the contemporary.

  • Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology

    Archaeological collections from the first human settlement of Europe during the Palaeolithic up to the end of the Roman period.
  • A group of carved Lewis chess pieces

    Medieval Archaeology and History

    Covering the material evidence of a crucial thousand-year period from the fifth to the fifteenth century AD through a range of archaeological finds and assemblages.

What we do

Our team of archaeologists and material historians research, share knowledge and continue to build the Scottish collections.

Scottish History & Archaeology stories

  1. A group of Bronze Age objects including a ring of a large cauldron and fragments of spearheads, swords and dagger blades against a black background.

    Sacrifice or scrap? The Bronze Age weapons from Duddingston Loch

    Archaeology

    Written by Dr Matthew Knight
    Why was a 3000-year-old hoard of objects deliberately destroyed and sunk into a loch in Edinburgh?
    Long read
  2. A man wearing purple gloves examines pieces from the Blyth Hoard.

    What is the Blyth Hoard?

    Archaeology, Scotland

    Written by Dr Matthew Knight
    A unique discovery from the Scottish Borders is shedding new light on the making of Bronze Age objects in Scotland.
    Long read
  3. Screenshot from a 3D model of oak boat stem from a Viking-age boat stem from Eigg

    A Viking Age boatyard on Eigg

    Archaeology

    Written by Dr Adrián Maldonado
    Two oak boat stems dating to 880-1050 AD from the isle of Eigg show the arrival of Scandinavian seafaring technology to Scotland.These rare survivals reveal how the Viking Age forever changed Scotland's seaways.Vikings and the seaWe tend…
    Short read

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