Campsie Local History Group

Free to attend, no booking required.

There will be some GAS publications available for sale after the talk.

WHAT THE ROMANS DID FOR US!

This presentation will relate the history of Glasgow Archaeological Society from its

foundation in December 1856 to the present day. It will mention some of the interesting

people who have been members of the Society, such as Miss Cranston of tea room fame;

William Blackie the publisher; Lord Kelvin, several Lord Provosts of Glasgow, a Confederate

General and a Campsie lover, Alexander Galloway, among others.

The Society activities including lectures, excursions, campaigns and publications will be

described and in particular its role in the excavation of sites along the Antonine Wall

including forts in the neighbourhood of Kelvin Valley, especially Bar Hill Fort at Twechar. The

Society has played a leading role in excavating, researching and publishing material on the

Romans in Scotland and the Antonine Wall especially. The various reports of the Society on

the Antonine Wall and the creation of its Handbook to the monument will be covered.

Some attention will be paid to the legacy of John Dalrymple Grey Dalrymple of Kirkintilloch

who served the Society for several decades and bequeathed a significant sum for a lecture

series that runs to this day. The work of Alexander Galloway who saved the Society from

extinction in 1877 and who had a special link to Campsie Parish will also be covered.