Rhind Lectures are a series of lectures on topics of archaeology, delivered over the course of a weekend by a chosen expert. They have been hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland since 1874. The content of the lectures is usually published in journals or expanded into new works by their authors.
The name commemorates Alexander Henry Rhind, whose bequest to the society funded this lectureship. Rhind directed that his estate be used for this purpose, once the interests of living parties was extinguished, this eventuated 11 years after his death in 1863.[1] The speaker and subject is selected years in advance, allowing an individual to give a detailed exposition on a topic in his area of expertise. A number of guests have spoken on archaeology, anthropology and other subjects embraced by antiquarians. The programme has an introduction, six lectures, and a questions and answer session.
The Rhind Lectures have continued into the 21st century, and since 2009 the society has published a video file that is freely available to the public.[2]
The total number of lectures in the series in 2010 was 131. The following is a list of the earliest lecturer to 1899, the titles of their lectures is given where known.[3]
1 1874/76 'The past in the Present' Arthur Mitchell, MD, LLD
2 1876/78 'The past in the Present' Arthur Mitchell, MD., LLD. These inaugural lectures were published as The Past in the Present: What is Civilisation, and concluded that civilisation was not inherent in modern people, or that essential characteristics were distinguishable from those of earlier peoples, rather it progressively emerged by the preservation of knowledge.[4]
3 1879 'Scotland in Early Christian Times' Joseph Anderson
4 1880 'Scotland in Early Christian Times' Joseph Anderson
5 1881 'Scotland in Pagan Times: The Iron Age' Joseph Anderson
6 1882 'Scotland in Pagan Times: The Bronze and Stone Ages' Joseph Anderson
7 1883 ["Theme of ‘Roman Wall"] Rev J Collingwood Bruce, LLD FSA
8 1884 'Ogham inscriptions in Ireland and Scotland' Sir Samuel Ferguson, QC., LLD., President of the Royal Irish Academy
9 1885 'Early Christian symbolism in Great Britain and Ireland' J Romilly Allen (John Romilly Allen), CE
10 1886 'Register of Privy Council of Scotland' David Masson, MA LLD., Professor of Rhetoric & English Literature, University of Edinburgh
11 1887 [Greek archaeology] Alexander Stuart Murray, LLD., Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London. Murray used this as the basis for his Handbook of Greek Archaeology (1892).[5]
12 1888 'The Lake dwellings of Europe' Robert Munro, MA MD., Author of Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings
13 1889 'Early Ethnology of the British Isles' John Rhys, MA, Professor of Celtic at Oxford. Published under the same title, 1891.[6]
14 1890 [title] Professor J Duns, DD., New College, Edinburgh
15 1891 'The Anthropological History of Europe' John Beddoe, MD LLD FRS, Vice-President of the Anthropolocial Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
16 1892 [title] Joseph Anderson, LLD., Assistant Secretary and Keeper of the Scottish National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh
17 1893 [title] Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, Bart., MP
18 1894 'Early fortifications in Scotland' David Christison, MD
19 1895 [title] Arthur John Evans, MA., Keeper of the Ashmoleum Museum, Oxford
20 1896 'Industrial arts of Scandinavia in pagan times' Dr Hans Hildebrand, Royal Antiquary of Sweden
21 1897 [title]' James MacDonald, LLD
22 1898 'Heraldry' J Balfour Paul, Lyon King-of-Arms
23 1899 'Architecture in Scotland' Thomas Ross