An excavation at the Bishop's House, Stow, Scottish Borders

Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports

The report describes the results of excavations in 1981, ahead of development within the South Choir Aisle of St Giles' Cathedral, and subsequent archaeological investigations within the kirk in the 1980s and 1990s. Three main phases of activity from the 12th to the mid-16th centuries were identified, with only limited evidence for the post-Reformation period. Fragmentary evidence of earlier structural remains was recorded below extensive landscaping of the natural steep slope, in the form of a substantial clay platform constructed for the 12th-century church. The remains of a substantial ditch in the upper surface of this platform are identified as the boundary ditch of the early ecclesiastical enclosure. A total of 113 in situ burials were excavated; the earliest of these formed part of the external graveyard around the early church. In the late 14th century the church was extended to the south and east over this graveyard, and further burials and structural evidence relating ...

Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports

This is a report on archaeological work in two of Scotland's less well-known medieval burghs of Kelso and Peebles. The excavations at Wester Kelso/Floors Castle established that the original medieval burgh of Kelso or Wester Kelso was much further west than previously believed, being situated well inside the present Castle policies. That early settlement at Wester Kelso appears to have been abandoned in the 14th or 15th centuries, at the same time that the royal burgh of Roxburgh was deserted, probably as a result of the English occupation of Roxburgh Castle. The other settlement of Easter Kelso, near the abbey, survived and expanded northwards from the abbey along Roxburgh Street. The finding of a possible building terrace in Phase 1 at 13-19 Roxburgh Street indicates that settlement along the southern end of that street could date to as early as the 13th or 14th centuries. Combining the archaeological, cartographic and documentary evidence, it seems clear that 'Easter'...

Scottish archaeological internet reports, 2019

West-facing section of Trench Box 2F 12. Skeleton 32, showing truncation 13. Plan of articulated skeletons 14. Plan of articulated skeletons (Level 1-highest) 15. Plan of articulated skeletons (Level 2) 16. Plan of articulated skeletons (Level 3) 17. Plan of articulated skeletons (Level 4) 18. Plan of articulated skeletons (Level 5-lowest) 19. Possible mass grave in west of evaluation 20. Plans of putative mass grave 21. Anterior view of right ulna 22. Posterior view of right ulna 23. Carpal fusion with subsequent changes to the distal articular surfaces of the metacarpals 24. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr plotted against strontium concentration for samples from Parliament House and St Giles' 25. The fields of Parliament House and St Giles' data in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr vs δ 18 O SMOW highlighting the 41 two main outlying samples PH SK 71 and PH

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

A survey and excavations were undertaken in 1996 at Edin's Hall fort, broch and settlement — a monument in the care of Historic Scotland — in response to evidence of rabbit damage to the earthworks. The work has shown that the evolution of the site is considerably more complex than had been recognized hitherto. The broch may have been constructed during the lifetime of the settlement. The status and wealth of the site are discussed, and considered in relation to aspects of Roman/native interaction. The project was wholly funded by Historic Scotland.

sair.org.uk, 2011

Scotland in Early Medieval Europe, 2019

This paper offers a brief commentary on the present state of play with early church archaeology in Scotland, some of the issues, and the rationale for a future approach that on the one hand puts Scottish church archaeology on the European stage while at the same time responding to and celebrating its diversity and local idiosyncrasies.

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Overview of the development of urban archaeology in Scotland from the early 1970s to 2004.

'Great fears of the sickness here in the City...God preserve us all', 2019

In 2016, Wardell Armstrong undertook an archaeological excavation at St Mary’s (Leith) RC Primary School, Edinburgh. The archaeological excavation revealed four phases of activity; Phases 1 and 2 comprised coffined and uncoffined human burials. The lack of infectious pathognomic skeletal lesions, the dating of the finds, the dendrochronological analysis of the coffin wood and technological data, along with the known historic land-use of the area, all indicate that the burial ground relates to the 1645 outbreak of plague in Leith. Dendrochronological analysis revealed a terminus post quem felling date of c 1640 for the coffin wood, while analysis of the coffins’ manufacture revealed hasty construction methods. Phase 3 comprised a series of waste disposal pits of 19th-century date. Phase 4 comprised levelling deposits, which were likely associated with the construction of the school and the demolition of the 19th-century smallpox hospital located to the north of the site. A total of 81 individuals were interred at the site. Adults represent 68.3% while non‐adults represent 31.7%. All age groups were present except neonates. Artefacts including keys, coins, sewing kits and combs were recovered. That the bodies were interred seemingly fully clothed and the corpses not rifled prior to burial strongly indicates a fear of the diseased corpse. The presence of everyday items on the bodies may also indicate a more sudden death outside the sick bed, possibly indicating the occurrence of septicaemic plague. Frequent occupation and attrition-related skeletal and dental pathologies indicate lives characterised by poverty and toil. Strontium analysis revealed that almost all individuals were local to Leith; several individuals had rosary or paternoster beads, indicating a likely Catholic affiliation, which would have been risky given that the pro-Presbyterian Covenant was signed in Leith in 1638. In contrast to older children, the younger children were interred in coffins, indicating differing views on the treatment of the body.

1996

Excavation to the immediate west of the castle revealed considerable evidence of occupation (probably not continuous) dating from c. 1200 to at least the mid-sixteenth century. Most of the structures uncovered were associated with the medieval burgh not the castle. The first timber buildings gave way to a fourteenth-century tannery, probably when the castle was in ruins and unoccupied. The tannery gave way to two phases of residential buildings, either of masonry or set in stone foundations. The latest of these structures were set against a new boundary wall, all probably dating to the mid-sixteenth century when the adjacent road, the Scores, was realigned. From an earlier period, Beaker sherds indicate prehistoric settlement, although no associated features could be identified. There are specialist reports on: `Coins' by Nicholas M McQ Holmes (635); `Small finds' by D Caldwell (635--45); `The inscribed stone' by John Higgitt (646--7); `Prehistoric pottery' by Helen ...