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Help Us Uncover the Forgotten Stories of Scottish Archaeology

18th August 2021 | Categories: Research, Uncategorised

We are pleased to announce our latest project, Forgotten Stories, led by Dr Nela Scholma-Mason FSAScot and Dr Jeff Sanders FSAScot, in collaboration with TrowelBlazers and North East Scotland College and supported by AOC Archaeology Group.

Forgotten Stories is a film and documentary series, accompanied by articles and blog posts. These focus on the lives of various lesser-known women who made contributions to Scottish archaeology over the past few centuries. Our aim is to make these women better known for their archaeological work, and to shine a light on their personality. Preparations are underway to begin filming an episode about Eliza Traill Burroughs (1849-1908, pictured) and the excavation of a Neolithic chambered cairn at Taversoe Tuick, Orkney (keep an eye out for Nela Scholma-Mason’s article on Eliza in this year’s PSAS) and further biographies are being considered. s6-3-1

One of the stories we are currently working on is that of Johanna (Hanna) von Ettingshausen (1854-1942) – mostly known as Countess Baillet de Latour (her name from her second marriage, 1897-1913), although she had previously been Mrs MacLeod (1881-1895) of Dunvegan. She excavated ‘Dun an Iardhard’ (Dun Fiadhairt), an Iron Age broch (most likely in 1892), and Dun Beag broch from 1914-20 and had a strong connection to the Isle of Skye and its antiquities. We are currently looking for more information on Hanna – if you know of any documents relating to her (such as letters, diaries or photographs), we would be very keen to hear from you.

You can email us at ForgottenStories@socantscot.org

And you can read a little more about Johanna von Ettingshausen in this Society paper by Katinka Dalglish with James Graham-Campbell: Ossianic gold: an enhanced object biography of a Viking Age or Late Norse finger-ring from the Isle of Jura in the collection of Glasgow Museums.

(Image: Eliza Traill Burroughs (1849-1908), who wrote a detailed report on Taversoe Tuick, Rousay, Orkney, in 1898. Image courtesy of Orkney Library & Archive)

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