Papers of Alexander Keiller, archaeologist, Morven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
551 14
Description Papers of Alexander Keiller, archaeologist, Morven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Date 1923 to 1949
Collection Papers of Alexander Keiller, archaeologist, Morven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Catalogue Number 551 14
Category All Other
Scope and Content The collection comprises survey drawings, notebooks, correspondence and a small number of photographs.
Archive History Presented to RCAHMS by Professor S Piggott, 1979.
System of Arrangement Field notes; correspondence and notes; site drawings; postcards.
Access Conditions There are no restrictions upon access.
Administrative History Alexander Keiller (1889-1955) was a Scottish businessman turned archaeologist who described and surveyed numerous stone circles in North East Scotland in the 1920s, but who is best known for helping pioneer aerial archaeology and excavating stone circles near Avebury in Wiltshire. Born in Dundee in 1889, Keiller’s initial bearing in life was a long way from the archaeological achievements he would become known for. He was heir to the James Keiller & Son marmalade business, a responsibility he would inherit, followed by the fortune attached to it, aged only 17. The company was sold in the early 1920s and Keiller pursued interests, including a short-lived automobile manufacturer, until the War when he served in the Royal Navy Air Service followed by a stint with the aerial intelligence division. Keiller’s interest in archaeology began in earnest after the war. After reading an article on the subject of aerial archaeology by the first archaeological officer for the Ordnance Survey, OGS Crawford, Keiller offered to finance and undertake an aerial survey of archaeological sites in South-West England. This was undertaken by Keiller and Crawford in summer 1924 and the resulting book ‘Wessex from the Air’ was published in 1928. Excavations, however, were to become Keiller’s preoccupation. He cut his teeth excavating sites, largely recumbent stone circles, near his home in Morven, Aberdeenshire. Encouraged by Crawford, in order to protect it for the nation, Keiller bought the Neolithic site of Windmill Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire in 1924. Excavations began in April 1925 and uncovered three concentric broken rings of ditches enclosing around 21 acres, one of the largest known Neolithic causewayed enclosures. They found worked stone from as far as the Lake District and pottery from Cornwall. In 1934-5, Keiller returned to Avebury to excavate the West Kennet Avenue which approaches the Avebury Stone Circle from the south. Where he found buried stones he re-erected them in their original places, where there no stones to re-erect he marked their place with concrete pillars. Keiller’s vast personal wealth allowed him to excavate on a much larger scale than academic archaeologists. However, a full report on the Windmill Hill excavations was not published until 1965, ten years after his death. Keiller also set up the Morven Institute of Archaeological Research in 1935, and organised and spoke at the first International congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, a series that still runs today. The Second World War put an end to Keiller’s excavations at Avebury and he served as an inspector in the Marlborough Special Constabulary throughout the conflict. In 1943 his holdings at Avebury were sold to the National Trust for their agricultural land value only. Keiller’s interests outside archaeology were wideranging: one of his earlier interests was in sixteenth century Scottish witchcraft. He was also a vastly experienced skier and spent most winters in St. Moritz. Keiller died in 1955.
Accruals No further accruals are expected.
Accession Number 1979/24
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