Highland Archaeology Festival 2020 – a Festival of Talks
Book your free place on one of the talks here
This year the Highland Archaeology Festival conference is going virtual and will feature a top selection of speakers, both homegrown and international, who will be bringing to life some of the fascinating heritage of the Highlands.
The series of free online evening talks will be spread across the two weeks of the festival, starting from Friday 25 September. These will cover a diverse range of topics from the archaeology of whisky smuggling, to some of the earliest evidence yet found for people in Scotland; how new technologies can add to the archaeological record; the incredible finds from the new Inverness West Link road - and much more.
Chair of The Highland Council’s Environment and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Trish Robertson said: “Over the years our Archaeology Festival has become a very popular high point of the year for celebrating the heritage of the Highlands. Sadly, this year we are not able to offer the full range of events and activities, but the team felt it was important to provide people of all ages and interests the chance to come together virtually and learn more about our fascinating past.
“I think everyone involved has done a terrific job in pulling together such a varied programme of talks. I wish the participants and speakers all a very successful virtual Festival.”
All talks are free and will be available online. Tickets can be booked through EventBrite or via the HAF website: - www.highlandarchaeologyfestival.org
Places are limited so people are encouraged to book now to avoid disappointment.
Details of the talks are as follows:
Friday25th Sept
Megalithic overkill? Rethinking the multiple stone rows of Caithness and Sutherland – Dr Kenny Brophy (University of Glasgow)
Monday 28th Sept
New evidence for the earliest inhabitants of the Isle of Skye – Dr Karen Hardy (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona)
Tuesday 29th Sept
Global access to cultural heritage: 3D modelling of monuments and artefacts – Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark (National Museums Scotland)
Wednesday 30th Sept Double bill:
1) Fairburn Tower – recent analysis and investigation – Tom Addyman (Addyman Archaeology
2) LiDAR survey in the Highlands: future prospects for 3D mapping and landscape archaeology – Dr Graeme Cavers (AOC)
Thursday 1st Oct
Tracking our information: from project start to archiving: a panel and discussion
The outsider’s perspective – Susan Kruse (ARCH)
The Local Authority perspective – Kirsty Cameron (Highland Council)
The archaeological contractor’s perspective – Lynne McKeggie (Highland Archaeological Services)
The allocation of finds- Emily Freeman (Treasure Trove Scotland)
Friday 2nd Oct
The Viking Age on Skye: artefacts, place-names, and landscape – Joseph Thomas Ryder (University of Bergen)
Monday 5th Oct
Inverness West Link Road Phase 2—AOC Inverness staff
Tuesday 6th Oct
Recent Palaeoarchaeology Work in the Highlands – Dr Scott Timpany (UHI Archaeology Institute
Wednesday 7th Oct
Digital Heritage, Archaeological Reconstructions and the Curatorial Field – Jacquie Aitkin (Timespan Museum) and Alan Miller (U. of St Andrews)
Thursday 8th Oct Current Student Research
The archaeology of whisky smuggling: searching for things that weren’t meant to be found! – Darroch Bratt (UHI) Others speakers to be confirmed
Friday 9th Oct Double Bill
1) Multi-period remains at Ashaig on Skye – John MacLeod
2) What do we need to know?: contributing to the Highland Regional ScARF – Susan Kruse (ARCH)
Monday 12th Oct
A Northern Pictish Powerhouse: Excavations at Burghead 2015-20 – Professor Gordon Noble (University of Aberdeen)