Perthshire Society of Natural Science
Environment, Nature and Cultural Heritage.
Why did a female Asian elephant collapse and die near Broughty Ferry in 1706? What happened to its mortal remains and what were the consequences for British science? Why had the creature spent the previous twenty years travelling all over Europe? Author and translator Andy Drummond answered these questions and more in an exceptionally entertaining and informative talk on November 27th.
On 6th November Bruce Keith spoke to the Archaeology and History Section about his latest book, Scotland Below the Surface, a “subterranean odyssey” covering everything under our feet: mines, caves, hollow mountains, hydroelectric schemes, railway tunnels and much else. Once again Bruce treated us to another exceptionally informative and entertaining talk.
On 9th October, in a talk about recent excavations in Glencoe, Michael Given, Professor of Landscape Archaeology at Glasgow University, showed us how past stories could illuminate the artefacts discovered and features of the area, It was a fascinating evening.
On Wednesday 17th January Professor Richard Oram spoke about his recently completed two-year project on the environmental history of the Tay, from the arrival of the first hunter-gatherers until the present day. This was an inspiring overview of the mass of material he is about to transform into a series of books. His gallop through the ages revealed a host of fascinating details, not least that the elites’ monopoly of the hunting forests, however unjust, tended to ensure their preservation. Above all we learned how greatly humans have altered the landscape and the river since earliest times and how seemingly untouched rural spots may be sullied by industrial pollution.
As a policy advisor, Professor Oram is well placed to ensure the lessons of history inform current decision-making.
To see the programme click on the link: