By Bernie Bell
Mike and I are ‘Friends of’ Kilmartin Museum https://www.kilmartin.org/ , and therefore receive regular Newsletters telling us about events, developments and discoveries relating to Kilmartin Glen and the Museum and I’d like to share some of the most recent updates with readers of TON……
The programme of on-line evening talks has been very popular and coming up in the next couple of months there will be….
Thursday 19th of May – ‘Spot the Bird’ with Oly Hemmings and Pete Creech – Heart of Argyll Wildlife
Date in May to be confirmed – ‘Cowboys & Indians?’ A study of violence and conflict in South East Scotland’ with Dr. Angela Boyle – a freelance osteo-archaeologist. This talk was re-scheduled from the 21st of April
Thursday the 19th of June – ‘Cord, cloth and clothing in the Bronze Age: A view from Kilmartin’ with Susanna Harris of the University of Glasgow.
Thursday the 18th of August – ‘Kilmartin v Cochno: Scotland’s biggest rock art sites’ with Dr. Kenny Brophy of the University of Glasgow.
All talks are FREE and places can be booked at https://www.kilmartin.org/evening-talks. If you can’t make it at the given time, all talks will then be available on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSawjkxSoWaXYgShHdYb_ZA.
Also, the popular guided walks through the monuments of Kilmartin Glen have re-started and will be held every Wednesday afternoon until 26th of October 2022.
They begin at 1.30 pm in Kilmartin village and to book a place …. https://www.kilmartin.org/guided-walks.
If you’d like to find out more about Kilmartin Museum – maybe become a ‘Friend of’ and receive Newsletters – check out the website.
Though the Museum is closed there’s a lot happening there, including a major re-development project. I just hope they don’t sweep away the loo in the old building – I think it’s a hoot – an historical hoot, but still a hoot!
Categories: Uncategorized
UPDATES…….
1) 𝘊𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴? 𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩-𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤. 𝘈𝘋 400 𝘵𝘰 𝘤. 𝘈𝘋 800 is on 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐
2) 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟯𝟬𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐
𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥
Davie Donaldson, Scottish Traveller Advocate and Social Justice Campaigner
Background:
Scottish Travellers – Nawken in their own language – are one of Scotland’s indigenous peoples. The community has been a part of Scotland’s landscape, travelling the country’s highways and by-ways, for at least the last nine hundred years. Though many of today’s Travellers are settled, travelling is still a key part of their identity; with communities expressing deep-rooted belonging within stopping places, highlighting the importance these places have in the teaching and retaining of ancient oral histories.
This heritage has yet to be fully acknowledged within Scotland, and the meaning of these places is not known by Settled communities. This compounds the marginalisation of Scottish Traveller communities who recite oral histories in their processes of making place sacred, reconnecting them as individuals with both their ancestors and the physical landscape.
However, by not making visible the stories, songs and experience of Scottish Traveller stopping places, it also disempowers wider Scottish society from having the opportunity to learn the deep knowledge of our landscape, and how Scottish Travellers have helped shape Scotland’s story.
This presentation will explore the ancient connection that Scottish Travellers have with the landscape, focusing on key locations (such as the Tinkers Heart) and their meaning to the community. The session will use both archival material and contemporary oral history to empower the audience to better understand Scottish Traveller history and experience within the landscape.
3) 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐
𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥
Sophie Flynn, Treasure Trove in Scotland
Did you know that in Scotland, archaeological artefacts found by members of the public are considered ‘Treasure Trove’ and can be claimed to enable them to end up in museums. But what is Treasure Trove, and how do you make sure you’re following the rules and metal detecting responsibly, in a way the helps us all to learn more about Scotland’s history? The Treasure Trove Unit are responsible for recording and processing finds made by detectorists all over Scotland, and we’ll be giving an online lecture on Thursday 21st July at 7pm so that we can tell you more about what we do and why. We will introduce you to what Treasure Trove is, how the system works, and what it means for new and established detectorists alike.
4) 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯
Dr. David Caldwell, Former Curator with National Museums Scotland
The burial ground at Kilmartin is home to an important collection of medieval burial monuments, mostly grave slabs that have been identified as local West Highland work of the fourteenth and fifteenth century. The speaker looks at why they were produced and by whom.
Dr David Caldwell is a retired curator who spent 38 years working for the National Museum of Scotland. In the 1990s he directed excavations at Finlaggan in Islay, the centre of the Lordship of the isles.