Glencorse Mains

This site was recorded from the air in 1976.

The small camp recorded in 1976 by RCAHMS lies immediately to the SE of the modern road A702 at Glencorse and it probably adjoins the Roman road that ran along the SE side of the Pentland Hills towards Elginhaugh or Inveresk. The ground hereabouts is not conducive to the free formation of crop-marks and the only photographs available record the side at an advanced and partially lodged state of the crop. The whole of the SW side, 120m long, the E and S angles, and about 40m of the adjacent sides, are all that can be made out. It seems unlikely that the cross-dimension greatly exceeded 100m, and the area was thus not more than 1.2 ha (3 acres).

G S Maxwell and D R Wilson 1987

The E corner, about 60m of the NE and at least 85m of the SE side of a temporary camp have been revealed by air photography on the SE side of the A702 public road 150m ENE of House of Muir steading.

RCAHMS 1988

Flotterstone, Temporary Camp NT 233 627 NT26W 33

The E corner, about 60m of the NE and at least 85m of the SE side of a temporary camp have been revealed by air photography on the SE side of the A702 public road 150m ENE of House of Muir steading.

RCAHMS 1988

A re-evaluation of the existing aerial photography suggests that the site is a more permanent work than a temporary camp and is therefore more likely to be a possible fortlet.

Information from RCAHMS (RHM, GSM) 15 July 1998.

NT 2347 6260 – NT 2370 6280 An evaluation was carried out in December 2007 on the site of a proposed new water treatment works. A total of 88 trenches were excavated, 7280m2 (just over 5%), of the proposed development area. The evaluation targeted the known location of a cropmark, interpreted as a possible Roman fortlet.

The evaluation confirmed the presence of a rectilinear ditched enclosure, three sides of which were recorded.

Sections were excavated across the SE, SW and NE sides of the possible fortlet. The excavations indicated that it measured c65m from SW to NE, the NW side of the feature lies outwith the proposed development area and at least 60m SE to NW. No features were identified in the trenches excavated in the interior of the possible fortlet and the entrance was not identified. The ditch ranged in width from 1.1–1.8m and up to 0.6m in depth.

Other features identified included a series of parallel boundary ditches, which relate to plantation boundaries

depicted on the 1st Edition OS 6” map and a ditched enclosure surrounding a structure also depicted on the 1st Edition map.

A further evaluation (5% – 5255m²) of the soil storage areas took place in August 2008. The evaluation work took place in two fields. In the first field a ditch was identified which was overlain by truncated rig and furrow cultivation. In the second, a stone-built culvert was identified. No other features or deposits of archaeological interest were identified.

Archive: Midlothian SMR and RCAHMS

Funder: ERM on behalf of Scottish Water

Magnus Kirby and Ian Suddaby (CFA Archaeology Ltd), 2008

A series of archaeological investigations were undertaken in advance of groundworks for the Edinburgh Drinking Water Project which will see the installation of a new water pipeline from the new Water Treatment plant at Glencorse to the existing water treatment plant at Alnwickhall with a spur running, from NT 25354 66630 to NT 25025 67340, to join existing pipework by the City bypass.

The watching brief included the monitoring of upfill operations overlying the possible Roman fortlet at Glencorse (NT26SW 33), and the photographic recording of any field boundaries within the policies (NT26NE 67.13) and designed landscape associated with Mortonhall House prior to their demolition. This programme of work led to the identification of three sites considered to be of archaeological potential: a dyke and the remains of associated rig and furrow cultivation (NT26SE 172)); a single pit containing fire-cracked stone and a single flint flake (NT26NE 374); and a ditch with a right-angled turn (NT26NE 375). Pottery recovered from the base of this ditch suggests that it was modern in date. It may have been either a feature associated with the Mortonhall House designed landscape, or a military feature excavated for military training by troops who were stationed at Mortonhall during World War II.

A metal detector survey was undertaken pre-construction of the section of pipeline running from Mortonhall army camp (NT26NE 90) to the road leading to Meadowhead Farm over the site of a supposed Cromwellian Army Encampment (NT26NE 5).

M. Kirby, CFA Archaeology, December 2011. OASIS-id: cfaarcha1-111885