Andrew Selkirk, FSA is Editor-in-chief of

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, and former Vice-President of the

Royal Archaeological Institute The Royal Archaeological Institute (RAI) is a learned society, established in 1844, with interests in all aspects of the archaeological, architectural and landscape history of the British Isles. Membership is open to all with an interest in these ...

Early life and education

Selkirk attended his very first dig aged 13 years old. He did his National Service in the Intelligence Corps, where he learnt Russian. He then read Classics at Oxford, where he became President of the

Oxford University Archaeological Society Oxford University Archaeological Society (OUAS), revived in 2020 as the Oxford Archaeological Society (OAS), is a society at the University of Oxford which promotes matters of archaeological interest through lectures, excursions and fieldwork. I ...

Publishing

He then became a Chartered Accountant, serving articles with Smith and Williamson and while editing the student magazine ''Contra'', Selkirk found he had a penchant for magazine publishing. Coupling this with his passion for archaeology, he founded ''

Current Archaeology ''Current Archaeology'' is a British monthly archaeology magazine. Summary ''Current Archaeology'' describes itself as the "United Kingdom's best selling archaeology magazine", a claim substantiated by British Archaeological Jobs and Resources o ...

'' in 1967. The publication now has a readership over 14,000. In 1998, he co-founded

with his son Robert, as the home of his flagship magazine, and the platform for ''

Current World Archaeology ''Current World Archaeology'' is a magazine devoted to archaeology spanning the globe. Summary The magazine focuses particularly on Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Near East, and Greece and Rome, while the civilizations of the Americas are frequent ...

'' (which launched in 2003) ''

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'' (in 2010) and was joined by ''

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'' in 2019. Andrew Selkirk is now the editor-in-chief of all three publications, whilst his son Robert is the company's publisher and managing director. His research and expertise has been cited in many other books, including ''The Amateur Archaeologist'' by Stephen Wass (1992); ''Archaeology in British Towns'' by Patrick Ottoway (1996); and The Ethics of Archaeology by Chriss Scarre and Geoffrey Scarre (2006). Selkirk's knowledge of British archaeology has been consulted by ''

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'', in which he has discussed topics including 'the changing face of Pre-Conquest Britain'.

Archaeological career

According to the Northamptonshire Archaeological Society, Selkirk 'has gone on to become well known throughout British archaeology'. He has worked with a number of archaeological societies and organisations. In addition to his appointments as a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and Vice-President of the Royal Archaeological Institute, he is Chairman of the Council for Independent Archaeology, and co-founder of the British Archaeological Awards. As noted by the Archaeology and Contemporary Society of

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, 'The Council for Independent Archaeology was created in 1989 to ensure that the interests of independent/amateur archaeologists do not get lost in the face of the increasing professionalisation and specialisation of archaeologists and archaeological practice'. He has served on the councils of the Roman Society and the

Prehistoric Society The Prehistoric Society is an international learned society devoted to the study of the human past from the earliest times until the emergence of written history. Now based at University College London in the United Kingdom, it was founded by V. ...

, and has lectured on 'The Valletta Convention', and 'The Public Face of Archaeology', amongst other subjects. He continues to promote amateur archaeology and archaeology independent of government. According to the

Adam Smith Institute The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is a neoliberal UK-based think tank and lobbying group, named after Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher and classical economist. The libertarian label was officially changed to neoliberal on 10 October 201 ...

, Selkirk 'advocates the use of Independence Impact Statements as part of a drive to end the capture of Britain's Arts and Heritage'. In May 2000, Selkirk appeared as a studio guest on the BBC programme, ''Talking Point On Air'', presented by Robin Lustig, debating the subject 'Whose art is it anyway?'. He has been quoted in ''The Guardian'', condemning cuts to funding on the British Museum.

Personal interests

A keen traveler, Selkirk enjoyed touring the archaeological sites of Britain in his camper van, and visiting excavations across the globe. He is currently writing a book "The Dark Secret of Ancient Greece" arguing that the secret of Greece was that they invented money, and that Greece was the world's first market economy.

Personal life

He is married to Wendy (née Frost) and they have three children, Fiona, Alexander and Robert, and four grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selkirk, Andrew British archaeologists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Living people British magazine editors Year of birth missing (living people) British magazine founders British magazine publishers (people)