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Papers of Roger J Mercer, archaeologist, Edinburgh, Scotland
551 219
Description Papers of Roger J Mercer, archaeologist, Edinburgh, Scotland
Collection Papers of Roger J Mercer, archaeologist, Edinburgh, Scotland
Catalogue Number 551 219
Category All Other
Scope and Content The collection comprises field records compiled in the course of excavation and survey of Scottish sites, including notes, drawings, photographic prints, negatives and slides. Projects include the excavations at Balfarg, Sketewan, and Cnoc Stanger, and field survey in Caithness, Sutherland, Eskdale, Bowmont Valley, and Kirkpatrick Fleming.
Archive History The collection was deposited with RCAHMS by Roger Mercer at various dates between the 1980s and 2000s.
System of Arrangement The collection is arranged by excavation or survey project.
Access Conditions Open, but note that access may be subject to provisions outlined in the Data Protection Act and conservation requirements. Please contact the archive to confirm access in advance of a visit.
Administrative History Roger Mercer, archaeologist (12 Sept 1944-3 Dec 2018). Born in Hendon, Hertfordshire, Roger Mercer came to the University of Edinburgh in 1963 where he studied archaeology under Professor Stuart Piggott. Graduating with an MA (Hons) in Archaeology in 1967, he first directed an excavation at Stannon Down, Cornwall, in 1968. In 1969 he was appointed assistant inspector with the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments in London, at first working in the south-west of England, where he excavated the Neolithic settlement of Carn Brea between 1970 and 1973. He also directed the excavation of the flint mines at Grimes Graves, in Norfolk (1971-2). In 1974 he returned to the Department of Archaeology in Edinburgh as a lecturer. In 1982 he was appointed as reader and between 1982 and 1987 served as Acting Head of the department. He directed a major programme of field surveys in Caithness and Sutherland (1976-89), Bowmont Valley (1984-8), Kirkpatrick Fleming (1988), excavations of the hillfort of Hambledon Hill, Dorset (from 1974), the prehistoric henge at Balfarg, Fife (1977), a settlement at Cnoc Stanger (1981-2), a bronze age cairn at Sketewan, Perth and Kinross (1988). In parallel with his archaeological career, Roger Mercer was committed to volunteer military service, first as a member of the OTC, and later the TA, in which he gained a commission. In 1990 he was appointed Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. He retired in 2004, and was awarded an OBE for services to archaeology. The following year he was elected President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (2005-8). He published widely: his principal publications include: Hambledon Hill: A Neolithic Landscape (1980); Farming Practice in British Prehistory (1981); Grimes Graves, Norfolk, Volume I: Excavations 1971-2, and with A Saville, Volume II: The Flint Assemblage (1981); Kirkpatrick Fleming, Dumfriesshire: An Anatomy of a Parish in Southwest Scotland (1997); (with F M Healy) Hambledon Hill, Dorset, England: Excavation and survey of a Neolithic monument complex and its surrounding landscape (2008); Native and Roman on the Northern Frontier (2018). For further detail, see: Proc Soc Antiq Scot 148 (2018), 1–12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.9750/PSAS.148.0003 https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituary-professor-roger-mercer-energetic-and-enthusiastic-archaeologist-who-made-edinburgh-his-home-1424198 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/professor-roger-mercer-obituary-lzx5rcrm0 https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/17344467.obituary-roger-mercer-archaeologist-who-led-groundbreaking-excavations-in-scotland/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Mercer
Accruals No further accessions are anticipated.
Accession Number 2021/43
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1176518
