Rhind Lectures are a series of lectures on archaeological topics. 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 were extinguished, which took place 11 years after his death in 1863. The speaker and subject are selected some three years in advance, allowing the speaker to give a detailed exposition of a topic in their area of expertise.
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.
Lecturers 1874–2008
The total number of lectures in the series in 2012 was 133. The following is a list of all lecturers to 2012, with the title of their lectures where known.
1 1874/76 The past in the Present
Arthur Mitchell, MD, LLD
2 1876/78 The past in the Present
Arthur Mitchell, MD., LLD
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 The Roman Occupation of Britain
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, CE
10 1886 Register of Privy Council of Scotland
David Masson, MA LLD., Professor of Rhetoric & English Literature, University of Edinburgh
11 1887 Greek Antiquities
Alexander Stuart Murray, LLD., Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London
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
14 1890 Archaeological Aspects of Scottish Zoology
Professor J Duns, DD., New College, Edinburgh
15 1891 The Anthropological History of Europe
John Beddoe, MD LLD FRS, Vice-President of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
16 1892 The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland
Joseph Anderson, LLD., Assistant Secretary and Keeper of the Scottish National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh
17 1893 The Place-names of Scotland
Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet
18 1894 Early fortifications in Scotland
David Christison, MD
19 1895 The Origins of Celtic Art
Arthur Evans, MA., Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
20 1896 Industrial arts of Scandinavia in pagan times
Dr Hans Hildebrand, Royal Antiquary of Sweden
21 1897 The Evidence for a Roman Occupation of North Britain
James MacDonald, LLD
22 1898 Heraldry
James Balfour Paul, Lyon King-of-Arms
23 1899 Architecture in Scotland
Thomas Ross
24 1900 The Edwards in Scotland, 1296–1377
Joseph Bain, FSA Scot
25 1901 The Constitution, Organisation, and Law of the Mediaeval Church in Scotland Bishop Dowden
26 1902 Castellated architecture of Scotland
Thomas Ross
27 1903 Scotland in the Time of Queen Mary
P Hume Brown, MA LLD., Fraser Professor of Ancient (Scottish) History and Palaeography in the University of Edinburgh