Anne Strachan Robertson FSA FSAScot

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FMA FRNS (3 May 1910 – 4 October 1997) was a Scottish archaeologist, numismatist and writer, who was Professor of Roman Archaeology at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and Keeper of the Cultural Collections and of the Hunterian Coin Cabinet at the

Hunterian Museum The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...

. She was recognised by her research regarding Roman Imperial coins and as "a living link with the pioneers of archaeological research".

Early life and education

Anne Strachan Robertson was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 3 May 1910. Her parents, Margaret Purden and John Anderson Robertson, were both school teachers. She was educated in Glasgow at

Hillhead High School Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. Admissions It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow. History Grammar school Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...

and the

Glasgow High School for Girls The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and t ...

. In 1928 she attended the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where she was impressed by the work and teachings of S.N. Miller relating to

Roman history The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced ma ...

. In 1930 Robertson won the Cowan Medal and she obtained the approval of Sir George Macdonald, then Honorary Keeper of the Hunterian Coin Cabinet. After graduating with a Master of Arts with Honours in Classics in 1932, she started her studies for a second MA, this time in archaeology, at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. In London, she obtained different scholarships to participate in

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...

's excavations, to work at the Coin Room of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, and to several academic papers on numismatics. She graduated in 1934, having acquired considerable experience in archaeological methods, particularly as result of her participation in Wheeler's excavation of Maiden Castle.

Career

Robertson returned to Glasgow in 1936 when she was appointed Dalrymple Lecturer in Archaeology. In 1938, she joined the staff of the University of Glasgow involved in the curation of the

Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...

. In 1952 she became Under (Deputy) Keeper of the Museum. In 1964 she was appointed Keeper of Cultural Collections, and was promoted to Reader in archaeology at the University in the same year. In 1974 she was given the honorary title of Professor and became the Keeper of Roman Archaeology at the museum. She was President of the

Glasgow Archaeological Society The Glasgow Archaeological Society is an archaeological society in Glasgow, Scotland, that was established in 1856. The society is known for its Dalrymple Lectures, co-hosted with the University of Glasgow. Previous lecturers and topics have incl ...

from 1954 to 1957, having been vice-president from 1945 to 1954. Following her presidency, Robertson served as Honorary Secretary of the Society from 1965 to 1972. A special issue of the ''

Glasgow Archaeological Journal The ''Scottish Archaeological Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journ ...

'' was published in her honour in 1976 "in gratitude for her outstanding services to scholarship - specifically, to the study of Roman Scotland - and to the Glasgow Archaeological Society". She served on the Council of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

from 1946, and was the first woman to be elected to Council. Robertson was a prolific excavator of Roman sites, notably Castledykes near Lanark (1937), Duntocher on the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

(1947–51), Birrens in Dumfriesshire (1962-7), and Cardean in

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

(1968–75). She was Secretary of the

Scottish Field School of Archaeology Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

from 1948 to 1973.

Honours

Robertson became a Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society in 1937, and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1941. Robertson was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1958. Robertson was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1975 (

). Her proposers were Alex Haddow,

Robert Alexander Rankin Robert Alexander Rankin FRSE FRSAMD (27 October 1915 – 27 January 2001) was a Scotland, Scottish mathematician who worked in analytic number theory. Life Rankin was born in Garlieston in Wigtownshire the son of Rev Oliver Rankin (1885–1954), ...

Stuart Piggott Stuart Ernest Piggott, (28 May 1910 – 23 September 1996) was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex. Early life Piggott was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, the son of G. H. O. Piggott, and was educated t ...

Sheina Marshall Sheina Macalister Marshall (20 April 1896 – 7 April 1977) was a Scottish marine biologist who dedicated her life to the study of plant and animal plankton. She was an authority on the copepod Calanus. She worked at the Marine Biological ...

, Edward McGirr and Agnes Miller. She was elected to an Honorary Membership of the Glasgow Archaeological Society in 1976. In 1964, she was awarded the

Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society The Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society was first awarded in 1883. It is awarded by the Royal Numismatic Society and is one of the highest markers of recognition given to numismatists. The President and Council award the Medal annually to an "indi ...

, followed by the Huntington Medal from the

American Numismatic Society The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins, money, medals, tokens, and related objects. Founded in 1858, it is the only American museum devoted exclusively to their preservation ...

in 1970.

Publications

Books

*''An Antonine Fort: Golden Hill, Duntocher'' (Edinburgh, 1957) *''The Antonine Wall: A Handbook to the Roman Wall between Forth and Clyde and a Guide to its Surviving Remains'' (Glasgow, 1960; 5th edn., rev. and ed. by L. Keppie, 2001) *''The Roman Imperial Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet, University of Glasgow'', 5 vols. (1962-1982) *''The Roman Fort at Castledykes'', (Edinburgh, 1964) *''Birrens (Blatobulgium)'' (Edinburgh, 1975) * (with M. Scott and L. Keppie), ''Bar Hill: A Roman Fort and its Finds'', (Oxford,1975) *''An Inventory of Romano-British Coin Hoards'', Royal Numismatic Society Special Publication 20 (2000).

Articles

A bibliography of Anne Robertson's published work to 1976 was compiled for a special issue of the Glasgow Archaeological Journal in 1976 (volume 4, issue 4) Keppie, L (1976) 'Anne S Robertson: A bibliography of her published work to 1976', ''Glasgow Archaeological Journal'' vol 4, issue 4 (1976), pp. 144–6. https://doi.org/10.3366/gas.1976.4.4.144 *(with J Smythe) 'A Roman oven at Mumrills, Falkirk', ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'' 76 (1942), pp. 119–27. *'A Hoard of Roman Silver Coins from Briglands, Rumbling Bridge, Kinross-shire', ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'' 90 (1957), pp. 241–6. *'Roman Coins found in Scotland, 1951-60', ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'' 94 (1961), pp. 133–83. *'Recent work on the Antonine Wall', ''Glasgow Archaeological Journal'' vol 1, issue 1 (1969), pp. 37–42. https://doi.org/10.3366/gas.1969.1.1.37 *'The Roman Camp(s) on Hillside Farm, Dunblane, Perthshire', ''Glasgow Archaeological Journal'' vol 1, issue 1 (1969), pp. np-36. https://doi.org/10.3366/gas.1969.1.1.NP *'The Renfrew (1963) Coin Hoard', ''Glasgow Archaeological Journal'' vol 1, issue 1 (1969), pp. 72–4. https://doi.org/10.3366/gas.1969.1.1.72 *'Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion found on the Antonine Wall, at Hutcheson Hill, 1969', ''Glasgow Archaeological Journal'' vol 1, issue 1 (1969), p. 1. https://doi.org/10.3366/gas.1969.1.1.1 *'Roman coins found in Scotland, 1961-70', ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'' 103 (1971), pp. 113–68. *(with Ethel Barlow) 'The Dun Lagaidh hoard of short cross sterlings', ''Glasgow Archaeological Journal'' vol 3, issue 3 (1974), pp. 78–81. https://doi.org/10.3366/gas.1974.3.3.78 *'Roman Finds from Non-Roman Sites in Scotland''’'', ''Britannia'', vol. I (1970), pp. 198–226. *''‘''The Romans in North Britain: The Coin Evidence', in ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'', pt. 2, vol. 3 (Berlin, 1975), pp. 364–428. *'Roman coins found in Scotland, 1971-1982', ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'' 113 (1984), pp. 405–48.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Anne Strachan 1910 births 1997 deaths Academics of the University of Glasgow Archaeologists from Glasgow Scottish numismatists British women archaeologists Scottish women scientists People from Hillhead Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish curators Scottish women curators Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of London People educated at the High School of Glasgow British women historians Scottish women academics Women numismatists