archsoc.co.uk

Well, it’s the end of another successful year for ArchSoc.  We hope you’ve enjoyed the lecture series and our other events and we can only hope you find something non-illicit to fill the ArchSoc-shaped hole in your life the end of this semester brings.

Wait, did I say the end?  Not quite.  We still have this year’s AGM to get through, taking place on Wednesday 28th March.  We have to elect a new committee for next year and all it’s possible to stand for all places: for more information on each committee position, check the Facebook event.  We’ll kick of at 12.30pm at Malone’s ‘Irish’ Bar, and if your burning desire to ensure the survival of our society isn’t enough to make you turn up, then perhaps the free food that will be provided will be.  We’ll also be voting on whether or not to accept the new constitution as crafted by two guys on the committee who, I hear, are not just intelligent, morally upstanding and good at writing legislation with multiple numbered sections, but are also damnably attractive.

We hope to see you all there.

Fortune and Glory.

Well, by now the flurry of coursework has well and truly hit and no doubt you are all holed up in the EUL bravely facing the onslaught. In order to alleviate some of the stress, ArchSoc are presenting not one, not three, but two delightful events over the course of the next week.

The next lecture in our series is a change from the advertised programme.  Dr Richard Knecht of Aberdeen University was to lecture on climate change and prehistory in Alaska, but has unfortunately had to cancel.  We are grateful to his colleague, Dr Charlotta Hillerdal, who has agreed to step into the breach to present on the same research area. The project at Nunalleq is conducted in partnership with a Yup’ik Eskimo village in Alaska in excavating a very well preserved pre-contact village site.  The excavation has revealed some fantastic organic preservation and raised many interesting points about the history of the Yup’ik and broader Eskimo culture.

The lecture will take place next Tuesday, 6th March, at 6.00pm and will be held in the Meadows Lecture Theatre.  As ever, entrance is free for members and £2 for non-members.

However, we also know that by now your sugar levels are probably dipping and you might need a little boost to carry you over to the weekend.  Well, we’ve thought of that too.  So tomorrow, Friday 2nd March, we’ll be running a cake stall at Doorway 4 from 11am to 3pm.   From it you will be able to purchase some sort of delicious biscuit or cake to get you through those long, essay-filled days.  Prices are as yet undecided, but I am assured they will be reasonable.

This week’s lecture will be presented by Dr Alison Sheridan of the National Museum of Scotland.  The talk will focus on Jadeite axes.  Jadeite occurs naturally in just one area: the western Alps. It became a highly prized resource amongst Europe’s earliest farmers, a noticeable use being the making of highly accomplished axes.  Despite jadeite’s very localised origin, these axe-heads are found as far from the Alps as Scotland.

Alison Sheridan is Head of Early Prehistory in the National Museums of Scotland Archaeology Department, where she has worked since 1987. She was part of the curatorial team responsible for the Early People gallery of the Museum of Scotland.

The lecture will take place on Tuesday 28th February at 6.00pm in the Meadows Lecture Theatre.  As ever, entrance is free for members of the society and £2 for non-members.  It is still possible to join the society at this lecture and enjoy the benefits of membership for the rest of the semester.

Doubtless we will repair to Doctor’s for a beverage or several after the lecture, so do feel free to join us there.

Hopefully you’ve all had a good break and are ready to  return to the familiar and comforting embrace of ArchSoc.  To kick off the new term we’re having a, by now, traditional pub quiz in Malone’s ‘Irish’ Bar on Thursday 26th January, beginning at 7.30pm.  Entry is £1 for members and non-members and £2 for non-students.  Hopefully see a good load of you there to chase away those post-Christmas blues.

Fortune and Glory.

Here at ArchSoc, we not only look after the intellectual well-being of our members, but also like to make sure you’re eating well.  And, as we all know, delicious baked goods are an intrincis part of any well-balanced diet.  To that end, we’re having two confecitonary-based events this week.

First, Thursday 17th November is our Pancake Social.  Meet at Teviot at 7pm and, I am reliably informed, we’ll head on to a kitchen to rustle up some delicious goods.

If you manage to haul yourself into university on Friday after such good eating, you may find yourself requiring a bit of the hair of the dog.  In that case, feel free to swing by our bun stall, which will be outside Doorway 4 from 11.00am to 4.00pm.  Various delicious items will be on sale, made by our own society members, so make sure to take advantage of the situation.

Fortune and Glory (and cake)