Gordon Stirling Maxwell
Gordon Stirling Maxwell was born on 21 March 1938, the son of Alina (née Smith) and Edward Maxwell[1]. He won a place to study at Daniel Stewart's College (now Stewart's Melville College) from where he went to the University of St Andrews to study classics.
After graduation, Maxwell taught Classics at Madras College in St Andrews before being appointed as an archaeological investigator at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in 1964.
At RCAHMS, Maxwell contributed to all seven volumes of the Survey of Argyll[2] as well as a volume on the Prehistoric and Roman Monuments of Lanarkshire[3].
Maxwell also established an aerial survey programme at RCAHMS from 1976. In this work, he was able to make a number of significant discoveries of new sites from the air, some of which he subsequently excavated, including the Roman fort of Doune in Stirlingshire[4]. He discovered over a dozen Roman forts and fortlets, leading to a cartoon in The Times[1]. A volume of papers on aerial survey in Scotland was dedicated to him in 2005[5].
Maxwell's primary research interests concerned the Roman army in Scotland, about which he published numerous papers in journals including the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Glasgow Archaeological Journal and Britannia. He co-authored the standard text on the Antonine Wall[6] as well as an overview of the Romans in Scotland[7] and a volume on the search for the Battle of Mons Graupius[8].
Maxwell was editor of the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in the late 1960s and President of the Society from 1993–1996[9]. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1998[10] and was appointed an Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews[10].
Maxwell retired from RCAHMS in 1995 where he and his wife Kathleen continued to look after their garden at the home in Fife, which was regularly opened to the public through Scotland's Gardens Scheme[11] and once featured on BBC Scotland's The Beechgrove Garden.
Maxwell died in Fife on 19 November 2024[12].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Times, The (2024-12-02). "Gordon Stirling Maxwell obituary: pioneering aerial archaeologist". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-10-30. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/gordon-stirling-maxwell-obituary-pioneering-aerial-archaeologist-9x22rkwzn
- ↑ RCAHMS (1967–1992). Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volumes 1-7. Edinburgh: HMSO. Search this book on
- ↑ RCAHMS (1978). Lanarkshire. An Inventory of the Prehistoric and Roman Monuments (with the Twentieth Report of the Commission). Edinburgh: HMSO. ISBN 978-0114914783. Search this book on
- ↑ "Roman hospital found on site for new school Discovery of first-century remains said to be of national significance". The Herald. 1999-11-08. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
- ↑ Brophy, K and Cowley, D J (eds) From the air. Understanding aerial archaeology, Tempus, Stroud, ISBN. 978-0752431307
- ↑ Hanson, W S and Maxwell, G S (1986). Rome's north west frontier: The Antonine Wall (Revised ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0852244166.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link) Search this book on
- ↑ Maxwell, Gordon S (1989). The Romans in Scotland. Edinburgh: James Thin, The Mercat Press. ISBN 9780901824769. Search this book on
- ↑ Maxwell, Gordon S (1990). A battle lost: Romans and Caledonians at Mons Graupius. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0852244906. Search this book on
- ↑ "Presidents: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland". Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Professor Gordon Maxwell". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
- ↑ "Gardens: The crème de la crème of Fife's gardens go on display as part of the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee celebrations". 19 March 2012.
- ↑ "Scotsman Obituaries: Gordon Maxwell, noted Scottish archaeologist and aerial photographer". The Scotsman. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
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