Obituary: Alexander Morrison - Academic who helped to establish crofting culture as a subject of scholarship

DR Alex Morrison was a key figure in the development of archaeology at the University of Glasgow and was central in establishing the value of rural settlement studies in Scottish archaeology, especially in the Highlands.

Born and raised in Stevenston, Ayrshire, Alex left school at age 14 despite being an uncommonly intelligent young man. His first job was a telegraph boy, but it was while working with the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Company that his potential was recognised when he was offered a Co-op scholarship at Loughborough College. This experience inspired him to obtain the necessary Highers to gain entry to the University of Glasgow, where he studied geography and archaeology.

He was one of the first students to study the new subject of archaeology and when he graduated in 1964 with the class prize he was encouraged to follow an academic career, which started by spending a year at Freiburg University in Germany. When he returned he was invited by his mentor, Dr Horace Fairhurst, to join the fledging Department of Archaeology as a lecturer in 1965. That is when he also began his postgraduate research, which was a classic blend of historical geography and archaeology directed at rural settlement in the Scottish Highlands.

Alex’s first love was rural settlement studies, perhaps not least because he met his future wife, Sigrid, while working in Strathnaver in 1962, an unlikely place to meet a German girl. This meeting perhaps influenced his decision to pursue his studies at Freiburg, where he and Sigrid were married in 1966. Alex developed a huge affection for Germany; he frequently holidayed there with family, became fluent in the language and knowledgeable about German prehistory.

Alex introduced generations of Glasgow students to the earliest inhabitants of Scotland, hunter-gatherers, who have left few traces, as well as to Scotland’s last peasants, whose post-Clearance remains are such a conspicuous feature of the Highland landscape.

These diverse interests were encapsulated by his groundbreaking survey work in Dunbeath, Caithness, which recorded a wide range of new archaeological sites from Neolithic cairns to post-medieval settlement remains. Given his background it is not surprising that he was an active in adult education and a stalwart supporter of the Certificate of Field Archaeology course, which focused on providing extra-mural students with the skills to be actively engaged in fieldwork. Teaching was his highest calling and he is remembered as an engaging and committed teacher by his students and was universally held in high affection by his colleagues.

Alex’s most successful publication was Early Man in Britain and Ireland, which became the standard textbook. His most significant scholarly efforts, however, contributed to establishing Highland crofting culture as a suitable subject of scholarship. At the start of his career the material remains of Gaelic society tended to be dismissed as mere “folk studies” by academics, but are now recognised as a central feature of the Scottish national narrative.

He was a prominent figure on the Glasgow archaeology scene for his entire career, serving as president of the Glasgow Archaeological Society (1997-2000) and editing the Glasgow Archaeological Journal (1984-97). For much of his career he was the recognised authority on Scottish rural settlement and consequently served on various committees, such as the Auchindrain Trust and the Dunbeath Preservation Trust, and in the mid-1990s was invited by the National Trust to excavate at St Kilda.

He retired in 1997, but unselfishly continued to teach his subject for five more years in order to keep the rural studies torch burning until his post was replaced.

Alex might have been more prominent professionally had he been less committed to his family. His appreciation of the domestic social pleasures linked him closely to the society he studied; he revelled in good company and an amusing story.

His musical tastes crossed genres and he was a capable player of the piano, guitar and Jew’s Harp. He had a prodigious memory for poetry and song. Sadly, his later years were marred by persistent ME, which robbed him of his energy and mobility. He was blessed with a long and happy marriage and two sons of whom he was so proud. Alex Morrison was unfailingly friendly to everyone and left a positive mark on all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

He is survived by wife Sigrid, sons Michael and Christopher and grandchildren Zodie and Johann. STEPHEN DRISCOLL