Welcome to the collection of open access e-books about Scotland's past published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland thanks to the support of our Fellows.

Browse our Catalogue to see all our e-books, or search by time period using the Categories on the right-hand side of the screen.

 

Spotlights

  • Radar in Scotland 1938-46

    Radar in Scotland 1938–46

    Spotlight

    The first published history of the Second World War radar stations in Scotland. With histories of each individual station, this book shows how the radar chain operated, how the radar information was processed and used for the air defence of Scotland, and what it was like to live and work on these mostly very remote sites.

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  • Roman Camps in Scotland

    Roman Camps in Scotland

    Spotlight

    As the northern frontier zone of Britain, subject to repeated campaigns by the Roman army, Scotland possesses a wide and fascinating range of camp sites recorded both as earthwork remains and through cropmarkings from the air. The field evidence is discussed against the background of Roman army campaigns, with each of the camps described and illustrated in a detail gazetteer.

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  • Rhynie, A Powerful Place of Pictland: The development of a landscape of Pictish royal power from the Roman to the early medieval period

    Rhynie, A Powerful Place of Pictland

    Spotlight

    Offering a transformative reassessment of power, settlement and material culture in Late Roman Iron Age and early medieval northern Britain, this volume provides the first comprehensive analysis of a Pictish central place complex. Integrating artefactual, environmental, stratigraphic and scientific datasets, it explores themes of rulership, cult and connectivity between northern Pictland and the wider European world.

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Featured

Atlas of Scottish History to 1707

Peter G B McNeill, Hector L MacQueen (Author); Patrick Ashmore, J W M Bannerman, Ishbel Barnes (Contributor); G W S Barrow (Editor); Stephen Boardman, Alan Borthwick, David J Breeze, James Brown, D H Caldwell, J S Cameron, Ewan Campbell, R G Cant, T M Chalmers, Peter Corser, I B Cowan, B E Crawford, E P Dennison, Helen Dingwall (Contributor); David Ditchburn (Editor); Philip Dixon, David Dobson, R A Dodgshon, J G Dunbar, A A M Duncan, John Durkan, Alexis Easson, W K Emond, Elizabeth Ewan, Richard Fawcett, Elaine Finnie, Ian Fisher, Alexander Gibson, John M Gilbert, Alexander Grant, W S Hanson, Caroline Hardie, I B Henderson, L J F Keppie, James Kirk, J F Lydon (Contributor); Michael Lynch, N A T Macdougall (Editor); C A McGladdery, L J MacGregor, A I Macinnes, Alan Macquarrie, G S Maxwell, Maureen Meikle, Marcus H Merriman, Rosiland Mitchison (Contributor); Ian A Morrison (Editor); Jean Munro, R W Munro, Athol Murray, W F H Nicolaisen, Richard Oram, T I Rae, N H Reid, Anna Ritchie, Niall H Robertson, Margaret H B Sanderson, W W Scott, W D H Sellar (Contributor); Norman F Shead (Editor); G G Simpson, M A Simpson, Allan Small, David B Smith, R M Spearman, Margaret Steele (Contributor); Geoffrey Stell (Editor); Alexander Stevenson, David Stevenson, Alistair Strang, K J Stringer (Contributor); Lisbeth M Thoms (Editor); Anthony Tuck, D J Turner (Contributor); D E R Watt (Editor); B Webster, I D Whyte, C W J Withers, Alan Young (Contributor)
May 8, 2026

The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay: Excavations at the Centre of the Lordship of the Isles, 1989–1998

David Caldwell (Author); Kath McSweeney, Roger McWee, N Milner, Nicola Murray, Norman Newton, Marion O’Neil, Leonie Paterson, Alan Radley, Nigel Ruckley, Alan Saville, Paul Sharman, Helen Spencer, David Stewart, Jonathan Triscott, Clive Warsop, E M Laurie, Fraser Hunter, Fiona Baker, Sheila Boardman, Chris Burgess, Ruby Ceron-Carrasco, John Chesher, David Connolly, Trevor Cowie, Michael Cressey, Jo Dawson, Valerie Dean, Gordon Ewart, Mark Hall, Karen Hardy, Judy Holmes, Nicholas Holmes, Paul Wilthew (Contributor)
September 17, 2025

New Releases

A Cromwellian Warship wrecked off Duart Castle, Mull, Scotland, in 1653

Colin J M Martin (Author); James H Barrett, David Bate, Sue Black, Darren Cox, George Dalgleish, Peter Spencer Davies, Peter Ditchfield, Glenn Foard, Headland Archaeology Ltd, David Lamb, Ian MacLeod, John McManus, Wolfram Meier-Augenstein, Rachel L Parks, Andrew Ramsay, Janet Shelley, Theo Skinner, Catherine Smith, Lore Troalen (Contributor)
August 15, 2025

On the Fringe of Neolithic Europe: Excavation of a Chambered Cairn on the Holm of Papa Westray, Orkney

Anna Ritchie (Author); Patrick Ashmore, Marie Balasse, R Barnett, Don Brothwell, M Collins, Thomas Cucchi, Keith Dobney, Jennifer Harland, Mary Harman, Audrey Henshall, Frances Lee, Monika Maleszka-Ritchie, Rachel Parks, Mike Richards, J Searle, M Shafer, Rick Schulting, Anne Tresset, David F Williams, C C Wright (Contributor)
January 19, 2024

Darkness Visible: The Sculptor’s Cave, Covesea, from the Bronze Age to the Picts

Ian Armit, Lindsey Büster (Author); Torben Bjarke Ballin, Katharina Becker, Julie Boreham, Alan Braby, Trevor Cowie, Gemma Cruickshanks, Mary Davis, Adrian Evans, Mark Hall, Nick Holmes, Fraser Hunter, Dominic Ingemark, Rachael Kershaw, Christopher Knüsel, Jo McKenzie, Sam Moorhead, Clare Rainsford, Daniel Sahlén, Rick Schulting, Daniel Shaw, Alison Sheridan, Tom Sparrow, Michael Stratigos, John Summers, Jim Tate, Lore Troalen, Colin Wallace, Andrew S Wilson, Derek Hamilton (Contributor)
June 15, 2022

Portmahomack on Tarbat Ness: Changing Ideologies in North-East Scotland, Sixth to Sixteenth Century AD

Martin Carver, Justin Garner-Lahire, Cecily Spall (Author)
June 28, 2019