National Organisations

Historic Scotland: the government agency responsible for administering legislation relating to Scotland’s ancient monuments and historic buildings, looking after and presenting monuments in state care, and funding archaeological projects.

NMS: The National Museums of Scotland is Scotland’s national museum service. It cares for many of Scotland’s museum collections of national and international importance and presents these to the public at its six museums.

NTS: The National Trust for Scotland is the conservation charity that protects and promotes the preservation of places of historic and architectural interest and of natural beauty. It owns properties ranging from castles to islands and mountains. With over 260,000 members it is the largest conservation charity in Scotland.

RCAHMS: The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland is the principal body responsible for recording, interpreting and collecting information about the built environment and makes this information available to the public through the National Monuments Record of Scotland.

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland: The national learned archaeological and historical society, with over 3000 Fellows worldwide. A major part of the Society's programme is the sponsorship of research, and there are various grants and awards to assist different kinds of work, from survey and excavation to finds analysis and archival research.

Treasure Trove: All archaeological finds in Scotland, whether of precious metal or not, automatically belong to the Crown and are effectively treasure trove until proven otherwise. The Treasure Trove Secretariat based within the NMS carries out the day to day work and supports the Treasure Trove Advisory Panel, which deals with individual cases and provides information and advice on the law as it relates to the discovery of artefacts.