Our September newsletter is now available! We have some exciting events coming up, including the launch of the brand new Dendrochronology Framework at ELBAC this November.

Click here to see where we’ll be and how you can get involved.

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Our latest newsletter is now available! With exciting news for the Clyde Valley Archaeological Research Framework, and the first update to the Archaeological Science framework since it was completed in 2012, it’s been a busy summer for the ScARF team.

Read the full newsletter here.

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Our latest newsletter is now avaialble! From an exciting start to a regional research framework project to a brand new ECR case study, you can read all the ScARF updates here.

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We have created a survey to gather feedback on our Regional Research Frameworks, which form an important part of the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework. Your input as a user, contributor or both is incredibly valuable to us.

The purpose of the survey is to collect information to help us develop our best practice strategy for the development of future Research Frameworks. The feedback collected from this survey will help us ensure that this strategy aligns with the needs of both contributors and users.

By sharing your thoughts and experiences, you’ll contribute to shaping the future of Scotland’s Archaeological Research Framework.
The deadline for participation is 31st May and your responses will be anonymous. 

To share your opinions on the Regional Research Frameworks, follow the link here.

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Our latest newsletter is now available to keep you in the loop with all our exciting updates, including our Regional Research Frameworks survey, the upcoming CVARF Symposium and a new job opportunity.

Click here to read the full newsletter and sign up to future newsletters at the bottom of this page.

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The first CVARF symposium will be held on the 7th and 8th June 2024 in Glasgow. This two-day event will involve short talks, workshops and walking tours to showcase some of the exciting archaeology of the Clyde Valley region, and offer the chance to have your say in the creation of the highly anticipated Clyde Valley Archaeological Research Framework.

The symposium will be held at the Senate Room at the University of Glasgow and at Govan Old Church.

Please head to our Eventbrite page for more information and to book your place now!

*This is an in-person only event, though the presentations will be recorded and made available on the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland YouTube channel. Online and hybrid events will take place as part of the CVARF project in due course.  

Venues

Day 1 — Senate Room, Main Building, University of Glasgow (with reception at the Molema Building)

Day 2 — Govan Old Parish Church, Govan

Event Schedule

Day 1: Friday 7^th June — Senate Room, University of Glasgow

9.30 — 10:00 Registration  

Morning Session 

The morning session will aim to begin to share some of our current knowledge and understanding of archaeological research across the Clyde Valley region. 

10:00 — 10.30:  Introduction to the Clyde Valley Archaeological Research Framework 

Following an introduction to the project, there will be a series of short talks to set the scene which will give an overview of the key interests, knowledge and most recent research carried out by three core stakeholder groups in the region. 

10.35 — 11.05: Community/Third Sector 

11.10 — 11.40: Commercial/professional 

11.45 — 12.15: Academic 

12.15 — 12.30: Discussion 

12.30 — 13.30: Lunch (provided) 

Afternoon Session 

The afternoon session will aim to Identify key future collaborative research activities. Following short introductory talks on each topic we will break out into small groups to explore different themes and objectives.  

13.30 — 14.30: Establish key shared future research themes and questions, and potential associated outputs & outcomes. We will focus on participatory/outcome focused approaches to research 

14.35 — 15.35: Address research priorities in and which complement the existing ScARF framework. We will focus on Research Focus (how do we prioritise and formulate action research) 

15.35 — 16.00: Summary, discussions and questions 

16.00 — 17.00:  Reception with wine and nibbles (to take place in University of Glasgow’s Archaeology Department, Molema Building) 

Day 2: Saturday 8^th June 2024 — Govan Old Parish Church 

Morning session 

The second day will focus on how we can build increased capacity to deliver greater public benefit in the Clyde Valley region through archaeological research, as well as investigating what we need to do to support training and skills activities, knowledge exchange events and coproduction of CVARF outputs.  

10.00 — 10.15:  Introduction to Day 2 

10.15 — 11.15: Panel Discussion – Identifying opportunities for alignment and collaboration on archaeological research in partnership between stakeholders 

11.20 — 12.20: Panel Discussion – The future of Heritage groups  

12.20 — 12.45: Discussion in breakout groups – How do we build increased capacity to deliver greater public benefit? 

12.45 — 13.45 Lunch (provided)

Afternoon activities 

13.45 — 16.00: Exploring Govan 

Tours of Govan’s archaeology, including: 

• Clyde Archaeology tour of the archaeology of Govan Old Graveyard 
• Walking tour of Govan 
• Walking tour of the Garden Festival Site 

16.00: End of event 

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Venue information

Senate Room, University of Glasgow:

To get to the Senate Room, enter the Main Building via the middle, front door (Hunterian Museum) and either take the lift to level 4 and follow signs, or go through double doors on the right hand side and go up via stairs to the next level and follow signs. Volunteers will be on hand to guide guests to the room on Friday morning.

The room is fully accessible and has an inbuilt induction audio loop. You can view more details about the venue here.

Govan Old Church:

Govan Old Church is 150 metres from the Govan subway station. Limited on-street carparking is available in the vicinity of the church.

The Old Church is currently being renovated to improve accessibility. At present, the church entrance has 5 steps, with a mobile ramp on site to assist when required. More information is available here.

Some activities, including site visits and walking tours, may not be suitable for those with mobility issues due to uneven ground. Please get in touch if you need more information about the accessibility of the venues and walking tours.

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Our March newsletter is packed full of exciting events coming up over the next few months. From Neolithic Salt to our first symposium in the Clyde Valley, there’s something for everyone!

Read the full newsletter here for all the latest news from the ScARF team.

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2024 his in full swing! There’s so much to look forward to this year, including both the completion of highly anticipated frameworks, and the beginning of brand new regional projects.

Our first newsletter of the year is now available to keep you up to date with our latest projects, events and exciting opportunities. Look out for announcements about CVARF events, the launch of SIRFA and the final chapters of SESARF. 

The newsletter is available here.

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We are excited to announce that the first three chapters from the South East Scotland Archaeological Research Framework (SESARF) are now live and available on the ScARF website. Take a look and explore the Landscape & Environment, Palaeolithic & Mesolithic and early medieval chapters. 

Nine brand new case studies are also available as part of the SESARF framework, offering an insight into significant sites and projects from the South East region. 

The SESARF project is led by SESAP (South East Scotland Archaeology Partnership), a group formed from the Local Archaeologist based in East Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh City and Scottish Borders Councils and the ScARF team at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The project is primarily funded by Historic Environment Scotland with additional funding from SESAP.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to those who have contributed to SESARF, including Wessex Archaeology for their hard work in the first phase of the project. Thanks also to the speakers and attendees at any of our SESARF events and all the authors and case study contributors. Finally, we would like to thank and congratulate the members of the project team at SESAP for their hard work and commitment to the framework. 

Click here to explore the South East framework!

Keep your eyes peeled for updates as the next SESARF chapters are released over the coming months. Please contact us at scarf@socantscot.org with any questions or comments. 

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With conference season upon us, we know how expensive it can be to pay for registration fees, travel and accommodation. As part of our dedication to supporting students and Early Career Researchers in Scottish Archaeology, we are happy to offer bursaries to those wishing to attend upcoming conferences and events.

Over the next few months, both the Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders Archaeological Conference (ELBAC) and the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Committee (TAFAC) conference will take place, showcasing the rich and diverse research ongoing regionally across Scotland. If you are an archaeology student or Early Career Researcher (ECR) carrying out research on any aspect of Scottish archaeology and you would like to attend TAFAC, ELBAC, or another conference/event – apply for our bursary now!

Our bursaries can cover both the in-person or online registration fee as well as contribute towards travel and accommodation costs if needed. If you are travelling as a group from a Scottish university, we can also offer bursaries to cover group travel and/or accommodation.

In return for the bursary, we invite you to write a short piece about your research or project to allow us to share your work on our ECR research pages on the ScARF website. Previous examples of case studies can be seen here.

To apply, please email ScARF Project Manager Helen Spencer (helen@socantscot.org) with a few lines about yourself, your research/interest in Scottish archaeology and how you will benefit from attending your chosen conference or event. We will also require a short reference from a lecturer/supervisor.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about our bursaries or your application.

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