Watching Brief

Date 24 February 1997 - 11 March 1997

Event ID 1012316

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1012316

Kirkdale Archaeology carried out a watching brief during the excavation of cable trenches along the N and S roadways within the fort. The S works entailed machine excavation of a trench 350m in length (Trench 1) extending from the Fort Substation within Casemate 12 to the Pump-House just E of the Point Battery Casemates. This route ran close to the inner revetting wall of the South Rampart, running along the frontages of the casemates and the Powder Magazine compound wall.

The excavation of Trench 1 commenced at its central point near the Officers latrines, work running in both directions from this point. The cable was intended to link with the Fort Substation located in one of the Casemates near the Guardhouse, and hence the trench terminated at the doorway of Casemate no. 12. From here, the trench ran for 95m along the outer face of the Powder Magazine wall before curving to the N around the NE corner of a ramp joining the Courtyard to the S Rampart Terreplein. This part of the trench revealed the foundations of the Powder Magazine enclosure wall, at a depth of 25-28cm below the present ground level.

No finds were recovered from the entire length of Trench 1.

Trench 2 comprised a second cable trench along the front of the NE Casemates, again 80cm in depth and 60cm wide, running for c80m. The material removed from this trench proved to be highly disturbed levelling material of the courtyard, and yielded no finds.

Kirkdale Archaeology 1997