Archaeology Notes
Event ID 700279
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/700279
NS33SE 2 36360 34517
(NS 3636 3451) Dundonald Castle (NR)
OS 6" map (1967).
For a chapel which may have stood in the vicinity of, or within the castle see NS33SE 29.
For (suggested) fort around the castle, see NS33SE 11.
Robert II, who died here in 1390, rebuilt Dundonald Castle. His chief work consists of a very large oblong tower house, which incorporates the remains of a 13th century gatehouse. (Minor excavations were carried out in front of this in 1968 in advance of rubble clearances. There were no significant finds). Most of the tower, and much of the barmkin wall survive. The castle stands on an isolated hill, which has traces of a moat at its base, according to the NSA and MacGibbon and Ross.
NSA 1845 (A Willison); D MacGibbon and T Ross 1887; S Piggott and W D Simpson 1970.
Dundonald Castle is in a ruinous condition. The main portion of the building is covered with a barrel-vault and the storey above is open to the sky. The walls, of rubble, over 2.0m thick, show indications of additional buildings to the SW. Fragments of the courtyard, or enceinte, wall, 1.0m thick, can still be seen running around the upper perimeter of the hill, and in some places reach a height of 3.0m. Almost parallel to these, on the W and some 9.0m away, there are suggestions of a possible outer enceinte wall. The moat is imaginary; the hill itself forms an ample defence and the ground at its foot is simply low-lying and waterlogged.
Visited by OS (JLD), 27 May 1954.
Dundonald Castle was the property of Walter Stewart (1204-41); his son and successor Alexander was sometimes known as Alexander of Dundonald, perhaps because he was born there. This suggests that this may have been the chief place of the Kyle estates, but the Stewarts' court was held at Prestwick 1241-82.
G W S Barrow 1973.
As previously described. The tower is now roofed and in reasonable condition. Guardianship plate gives brief history.
Revised at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (JRL), 14 May 1982.
The first major season of excavation in advance of an extensive programme of reconstruction and restoration, concentrated on the S half of the site as defined by a mid 15th century barmkin wall which encloses the summit of the hill to the E of the late 14th century tower built by Robert II.
The complexity and antiquity of this important Stewart stronghold was confirmed with the discovery of two previously unknown construction phases both of which were much obscured by later building on the site. The earlier of the two so far identified is defined by a massive vitrified rampart which was traced immediately to the E of the barmkin wall. The other is a long hall-like structure or range of structures in stone which predates the barmkin wall and associated S range, and which probably co-existed with the tower. Elsewhere, the basement chambers of the S range were excavated along with the remains of a wide forestair which allowed access from the inner courtyard to the first floor of the tower.
Of the wide range of objects retrieved, most reflected the occupation of the site during the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries, but several artefacts from the late Iron Age, including a bronze brooch fragment, pottery and part of a shale bracelet were also found.
G J Ewart 1986; The Ayrshire Post, 25 July 1986
The second major excavation at Dundonald Castle was carried out over twelve weeks from May to July, concentrating on the summit of the castle hill, E of the late 14th century tower built by Robert II. Extensive new evidence was found from both the original native fortification and the later re-occupation of the site after the mid 12th century.
The recent work has confirmed that timber buildings associated with the vitrified rampart discovered last year, were also destroyed by fire and there is now some evidence to suggest that the first Norman castle saw the construction of a motte towards the W of the site. However the most dramatic aspect of this season's excavation was the discovery of a massive stone gatehouse at the E of the site, apparently consisting of two drum towers which were slighted during the 14th century prior to their final levelling in advance of the 15th century barmkin construction.
G J Ewart 1987
Work during the third main season of excavation was concentrated within the area defined by the 15th century barmkin wall. To the south, the partial remains of a series of late Iron Age structures were found below the medieval courtyard and roadway surfaces. Towards the north side of the enclosure a large rock-cut pit was found which was later lined with masonry to form a fissure-fed freshwater cistern. The pit was probably the result of quarrying for the construction of the great tower house during the late 14th century whereas the cistern appears to be no earlier than the mid 15th century.
Also, limited excavation on the probable 13th century north drum tower of the east entrance to the castle showed it to be a complex chambered structure with a massive outer wall. The tower appears to have been demolished by the end of the 14th century and was succeeded briefly by an earth bank, a precursor to the 15th century barmkin defensive line.
G J Ewart 1988
The excavation took place over 20 working days in order to (a) reveal the limits of a large stone structure immediately E of the late 14th century tower; (b) to shed light on the access route into the inner and outer courts; (c) to retrieve samples for corroborative dating of the firing of the vitrified rampart to the E of the hill summit; (d) to excavate a narrow track for a drain pipe at the S side of the tower complex.
Two main trenches were ultimately opened (K and L) - trench K over the assumed site of the stone building and trench, immediately to the N, linking with the inner face of the barmkin wall. The excavation results fall into 9 broad phases, reflecting 7 historic periods from a date prior to 1370 AD up unitl the present time.
Period 1: c1250-1370 AD
Previous excavation on the site has shown the presence of an extensive enclosure castle dating to the late 13th century, and the earliest structures and contexts revealed in the recent fieldwork, most likely date to that period.
Prior to the construction of the Barmkin wall in Period 2, a free standing rectangular stone building (Structure A) was built, below which traces of an earlier stone structure were found.
A short stretch of a very substantial wall (F 1108) aligned NS was found running beneath the barmkin wall (F1103) to an unknown point beyond the barmkin enclosure. It probably represents either some sort of division within the enclosure castle, or is part of a seperate tower-like building occupying the wide terrace immediately N of the barmkin. Structure A was defined by walls 1012, 1031, 1019/20 and 1207, creating a building 6.6m by 5.4m internally (EW and NS respectively).
Only parts of the structure were rvealed and no sign of an entrance was found, although it probably was in the S wall, approached ultimately from the inner court.
Period 2: c1370-1450
After the construction of the great tower by Robert II, the barmkin enclosure was established with an inner and outer court. This was achieved by the construction of a major wall (F1011) which ran from the S barmkin to abut the SE corner of Structure A, thus forming an enclosure with the Tower complex to the W. The earlier great wall F1108, was robbed of stone and was built over by the N barmkin wall (F1103).
Period 3: c1450-1550
Structure A continued in use after the castle passed from royal ownership, and was extended by the addition of another room E (Structure B). By the addition of walls 1010, 1014 and 1013 to the E gable of structure A, a building 5.4m (NS) by 3.4m (EW) internally was created. Access into 'B' appears to have been from the E, but there was no door between 'A' and 'B'. It is likely that 'B' was abandoned and partially demolished by the end of Period 3.
Period 4: c1530-1650
After the demolition of 'B', crude, vaguely circular stone settings were constructed against the outer face of the E wall of 'A'. These settings (F 1026 and F 1030) were of roughly mortared rubble and which may have supported posts for some lean-to-structure.
Period 5: c1750-1850
The local demolition of 'A' occurred at this time although it may well have been ruinous for a while prior to this. The building was then flattened and infilled with numerous dumps of rubble, some of which found its way over the N limits of 'A', to cover the period 1 and 2 surfaces found in trench L.
Period 6: c1850-1940
The area N of 'A' was infilled with a deep deposit of garden soil (F1016, 1028) which eventually saw use in allotment style cultivation around WWII, but which may well have stemmed from a more elaborate garden, perhaps in association with the extensive 19th century gardens of Audans House.
Period 7: c1940-1985.
The excavation revealed extensive evidence of the use of the site as a training ground for commandos in WWII (numerous .303 cartridge cases) but in the main, the 'modern' usage of this part of the site, has been that of a dump for spoil from various clearances and repairs to the tower, culminating in the ongoing programme of consolidation which started in 1985.
The short excavation confirmed therefore the presence of a highly significant stone building (A') the importance of which is implied by its strategic location on the limit of the bedrock summit, and its integration and extension during the 'royal' occupation of the Castle after 1370.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
G Ewart 1991.
A short programme of excavation was completed in February 1993 as one of the final stages of a lengthy programme of excavation and survey conducted on the site in adavance of restoration.
Work was undertaken in the pit prison, within the S range, and the footings of a rounded tower, possibly dating to the late 13th-century layout of the castle were found. Three further trenches were excavated within the late 14th-century tower in advance of first-floor reinstatement, but revealed only 19th-century levelling.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland.
G Ewart 1993.
NS 363 345 A watching brief was carried out in April 2000 while contractors carried out excavations to locate a broken electricity cable. No archaeological deposits were disturbed.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
D Stewart 2000
NS 3636 3451 A watching brief was undertaken in October 2000 during the excavation of a path and digging of founds for a new bench at Dundonald Castle (NMRS NS33SE 2).
The route of the new path revealed a reddish brown sandy silt, not usually bottomed, with much modern detritus throughout. Bedrock was revealed in some areas, in places only 100mm below the turf line. The two small trenches for the bench revealed a similar soil, again bottoming on bedrock in places. No finds were noted in these two trenches.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
D Stewart and G Ewart 2001.
