History Scotland

Explore centuries of Scottish history and archaeology with fascinating features on topics from all branches and periods of Scottish history and archaeology, written by leading historians, archaeologists and museum curators. With news on the latest research, opinion, expert reviews and spotlights on the country's most significant historical archives, this lavishly-illustrated magazine has everything you need to explore Scotland's rich past.

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Kilmartin Museum reopens with a brand new look • Kilmartin Museum recently welcomed visitors to admire its extensive renovation, which now allows thousands of prehistoric artefacts to be displayed for the first time

Call for papers: The History of Scotland • The 82nd World Science Fiction Convention will be held in Glasgow from 8 to 12 August 2024 and proposals are welcome

Heritage research to receive a boost with new partnership • The University of Stirling has formed a partnership with the National Trust for Scotland to enhance research, teaching and learning

FILLING IN THE GAPS ON SHETL AND’S LANDSCAPE • This summer, members of the public and Archaeology Shetland braved the glorious warm and sunny weather to conduct a field survey along both sides of the peninsula leading to Hawks Ness Broch near Breiwick, Shetland. Stephen Jennings of Archaeology Shetland reports

Scotland’s last medieval bridge gate: Stirling Old Bridge • Dr Murray Cook reports from a watching brief at the site of the country’s last surviving bridge gate

THE CANADIAN FORESTRY CORPS IN SCOTLAND • As we approach Remembrance Day, Dr Craig French and Barry Phillips tell the story of the men of the Canadian Forestry Corps who answered the urgent call of the Allies for timber supplies and found themselves stationed at a remote camp in Speyside

The last Scottish GAME OF THRONES • Between the revolution of 1688-90 and the union of 1707, Scotland was marked by a fractious and rapidly-evolving relationship between the ‘ancient kingdom’ and its monarchs. Dr Alastair Mann explores how the final Stuart rulers – William II, Mary II and Anne – tried to manage Scottish affairs

John Bell of Antermony: RUSSIA AND RHUBARB • John Bell of Antermony was a celebrated traveller, diplomatic official and physician at the royal court of Russia; a lowland laird and amateur naturalist; quite possibly a spy and perhaps the first person in the UK to grow one of our most popular vegetables. David McVey shares his recent research on Bell’s fascinating life

TRACING ‘THE MOST BURIED MAN IN THE WORLD’: JOHN PAUL JONES, SCOTLAND AND THE US • Dr Stephen Bowman reports from a recent research trip to the US, as part of a project exploring the 20th-century uses of the historical memory of Scotsborn ‘Father of the US Navy’ John Paul Jones

DIVINE DESTRUCTION: EDINBURGH’S ‘LESSER GREAT FIRE’ OF 1700 • The great fire that ravaged Edinburgh in February 1700 was a major national emergency with serious material consequences. But, as Dr Clare Loughlin discovers, it was also a psychological shock, forcing many Scots to question what they, and their nation, had done to deserve such divine punishment

TOASTING THE ‘LATE’ KING JAMES: contesting power in post-revolution Scotland • While the political dramas surrounding the 1688-90 revolution and the 1707 union are often viewed as elite concerns, many ordinary Scots found ways to express their opinions about these momentous developments. Dr Laura Doak investigates these subtle forms of participation, focusing in particular on the tradition of toasting the monarch

DIARY DATES • EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY, PLUS SELECTED ONLINE EVENTS TO ENJOY FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

The siege of the Bass Rock, 1691-94 • An infamous state prison under Charles II and James VII, the Bass Rock became an...