Archaeology in Scotland after the Second World War: The Glasgow Archaeological Society and John M Davidson

Abstract

The organisation and co-ordination of local and national archaeological societies in the United Kingdom has been a matter of discussion since the late 19th Century. These efforts resulted in an initially purely English and Welsh grouping – the Congress of Archaeological Societies – formed in July 1889. Glasgow Archaeological Society was the first, and perhaps the only, Scottish Society to join in 1922. In the middle of the Second World War discussion around how archaeological work could best be structured after the War was started and this time the coverage was UK wide involving both Glasgow Archaeological Society and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It led to the end of the Congress and the formation of the Council for British Archaeology and its various sections. This article reports on the nature of Scottish involvement in this work, rediscovering the key role of Glasgow Archaeological Society and its then President, John M Davidson, OBE, FCIS, FSA Scot.