David Caldwell was brought up in Ayrshire and studied archaeology and Scottish history at Edinburgh University. He was employed from 1973 to 2012 by the National Museums of Scotland in a curatorial role, latterly as Keeper of Archaeology and Keeper of Scotland & Europe. In the 1990s he directed excavations at Finlaggan.
He has published widely on Scottish history and archaeology and has also served as President of the Post-Medieval Archaeology Society, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Chair of Fife Cultural Trust and as a member of the board of the National Trust for Scotland.
David told us, “my book is a labour of love. I felt a very considerable responsibility to process all the data from my excavations at Finlaggan and produce from it an interesting and understandable account. It has taken a large part of my life, fitted in amongst many other commitments but I realised I was the only person in a position to do it.”
He went on, “Why does it matter? I believe that Finlaggan represents an important strand in our past which has not yet received the full recognition it deserves. It was the centre of the Lordship of the Isles, an alternative type of lordship to that in much of the rest of Europe but one which is the source of much of what we now regard as distinguishing us as Scottish.”
David also told us he’s very much looking forward to seeing the fruits of Ronnie Black’s labours in the Dewar Manuscripts.
David will be in conversation with Ronnie Black on Sunday morning 1st September at Bruichladdich hall.