| Ian A
Morrison |
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| Nationality - Scottish |
Profession - Author |
| Date of birth - 1940
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Date of death - 2005 |
| Place of birth
- Aberdeen : Aberdeenshire |
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Ian Alexander Morrison was born in Aberdeen but shortly after his birth his family moved to Edinburgh as his father secured a job as a technician with the BBC.
Ian was educated at George Watson’s School in Edinburgh where he excelled in all subjects, including science, music and art.
After attending Glasgow School of Art, and gaining an Honours degree in Geography at Edinburgh University, Ian’s interest in archaeology led him to take a PhD.
His PhD involved the investigation of raised beaches in Scotland, and Ian’s fascination with underwater archaeology meant that he acquired good diving skills which were to stand him in good stead over the next twenty years.
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Diving on submerged wrecks of Viking ships in Shetland, and the examination of a Viking-age port, resulted in the publication of The North Sea Earls in 1974, which examined the area’s complex history of shipping and political power in the Viking period. The volume was copiously illustrated with Ian’s splendid line-drawings of early sailing vessels, Shetland boats and underwater photography.
His Shetland work stimulated a keen interest in the archaeology, history and culture of the Northern Isles, as well as a developing fascination with the wider North Atlantic zone. Travels to Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland widened his expertise and experience. He became involved with the Scottish Society for Northern Studies, served on its committee for many years, and was elected President in 1993, having contributed many articles to the Society’s journal, Northern Studies, on diverse topics such as Shetland and Viking boats, climatic change in the North Atlantic, and similar themes.
But his archaeological interest extended to the Mediterranean, where he worked on sites in the Cyclades with Dr Colin Renfrew, and in North-East Syria with Dr Trevor Watkins. He surveyed sites on mainland Greece, Cyprus and Malta. In all these places, he formed warm relationships with local people, despite many language barriers. His ability to get close to ordinary folk, in all kinds of circumstances, was a remarkable feature of his character. He was intensely proud that when working in Greece, all the locals insisted on calling him ‘Jani’.
As a member of the Department of Geography at Edinburgh University, he taught undergraduate classes on subjects ranging from climatology to historical geography. For many years he was a regular contributor to the University’s Extra-Mural Department’s programmes. One friend, on perusing the Department’s course outlines found Ian’s name represented on virtually every aspect of study, from climatic change, archaeology and Viking studies to Middle Eastern stringed instruments.
After leaving the Geography Department, he went ‘freelance’, although he remained an Endowment Fellow in both Geography and Archaeology, where he continued to teach. This was a period when he collaborated with Audrey Daly to produce over two dozen Ladybird books for children, with titles ranging from science-fiction, and the raising of the ship ‘Mary Rose’ to the Royal Family. His ability to communicate with young people, through books, or through lectures, was quite remarkable.
His interest in Turkish shadow puppets extended to the households of friends and colleagues who were encouraged to collect cereal cartons for the manufacture of these puppets. Children were fascinated by this art, and enriched by the fascinating stories which accompanied the puppetry.
Ian Morrison died 10 February 2005, aged 64. |
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