Ian Ralston

IAN RALSTON's doctorate was on the Iron Age enclosed sites of Limousin, France, following on from undergraduate studies in Stuart Piggott's department at Edinburgh. For eleven years he was on the staff of the University of Aberdeen before transferring to Edinburgh in 1985, where he was appointed to a personal chair there in 1998 and as Abercromby Professor of Archaeology in 2012. Over his career he has primarily worked on various aspects of the prehistoric and early historic archaeology of...See more

IAN RALSTON's doctorate was on the Iron Age enclosed sites of Limousin, France, following on from undergraduate studies in Stuart Piggott's department at Edinburgh. For eleven years he was on the staff of the University of Aberdeen before transferring to Edinburgh in 1985, where he was appointed to a personal chair there in 1998 and as Abercromby Professor of Archaeology in 2012. Over his career he has primarily worked on various aspects of the prehistoric and early historic archaeology of eastern Scotland, including excavations at two promontory forts and undertaking research on other sites of Neolithic and later date. A further regional interest is in the Iron Age of France, where he co-directed and published excavations on the defences of the oppida of Levroux (Berry) and Mont Beuvray (Burgundy). More recently Ian worked as part of the team examining the large First Iron Age princely complex in and around the city of Bourges (Berry), contributing to several volumes on that site. His other interests have included aerial photography, archaeological resource management issues, the history of Scottish archaeology, and treasure trove in Scotland. A Hillfort Study Group member for some forty years, he was co-PI of the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland project. See less