Archaeological Evaluation

Date 19 April 2016 - 6 July 2016

Event ID 1023801

Category Recording

Type Archaeological Evaluation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1023801

NX 69762 53894 (Canmore: 64048) A programme of trial trenching was undertaken, 19 April – 6 July 2016, following a geophysical survey in 2015 by Richard Jones over the lawn of the former Tongland Manse (DES 2015, 60). The evaluation aimed to locate any structural evidence for the

Premonstratensian Abbey of Tongland, founded in 1218.

Three trial trenches were excavated on the N and E periphery of the survey area. A fourth was excavated in the SE corner of the lawn to investigate a particularly clear, linear positive anomaly. Trench 1 in the N revealed a 0.6m wide wall foundation, aligned cN/S and parallel to the extant W gable of the former parish church, built in 1633. An early 19th-century drawing of the church suggests that this served as a retaining wall for an access path to a doorway in the gable.

Trenches 3 and 4, to the E of the lawn, indicated that this part of the Manse garden has been considerably raised by deposition of material in the late 19th to early 20th century. This created a terrace over the natural slope down to the River Dee to the E. Consequently, any archaeological evidence for the abbey and its precinct in this part of the site may now lie at some depth.

Trench 5 was placed over the positive anomaly in the lawn, which proved to be a section of an abandoned 18th-century road running N through the site from the Old Tongland Bridge. The line of the road is depicted on a plan

of 1794 surveyed by John Gillone. The road foundation lay over a distinct occupation level characterised by small and amorphous areas of burnt earth and charcoal and a relatively high density of animal bone. The only artefact found in this context was a disc-shaped stone gaming counter, of c28mm diameter, similar to examples found at Whithorn Priory in early medieval contexts. The occupation level may therefore possibly relate to an outlying area of the Abbey precinct.

Archive: NRHE (intended). Report: Dumfries and Galloway HER and NRHE

Funder: Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society

David Devereux

(Source: DES, Volume 17)