Watching Brief

Date 26 September 2007 - 28 February 2008

Event ID 578802

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/578802

NT 5914 3170 Work took place to replace a wooden stair connecting the upper floor of the E range with the church and a watching brief was maintained on 26 November 2007 during the excavation of a shallow slot in the S Transept. The slot was just N of the junction of the S and W walls of the S Transept and was needed to take the N end of the new timber stair. The wooden stair can be seen to overlie the scar of a robbed-out stair (presumably stone), contemporary with the Abbey’s use. A stair in this position, connecting the monastic dormitory and the church, is a standard feature of such sites, known as the ‘night stair’.

An irregular line of stones was thought to be the top of the below-ground level footings of the Transept’s W wall. The scars noted on this line of stones probably represent the base of the night stair.

Note: the 'Night Stair' was discovered during the watching brief in November 0f 2007, but was excavated in February 2008.

David Murray 2008

Funder: Historic Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology

OASIS Id: kirkdale1-60229