Watching Brief
Date 13 January 1997 - 11 April 1997
Event ID 1028070
Category Recording
Type Watching Brief
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1028070
Monitoring of installation of external floodlight cables. In broad terms, nothing was revealed of the residual masonry towards the tower-house end of the castle complex. It is noteworthy that particularly within the entrance pend, substantial rubble deposits were revealed, suggested in part by the character of the debris (mortar-rich), and the shelving nature of the bedrock, which may well be coincident with the entranceway. The ground would appear to slope upwards from outside to inside, and the pend may well have exploited a natural terrace in the underlying bedrock. Little new evidence was found of the still enigmatic route of the barmkin wall to the NW of the tower house. It is clear however that the wall line remains close to the surface, which could easily be cleared if the need were to arise.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
Kirkdale Archaeology
Observations of the general topography to the W of the tower house at or near 'Dumpling Hill' seem at present to indicate a form of forework associated with the 14th-century castle, and revealed traces of a terrace and a probable rectangular building. The terrace appeared to be exclusively associated with the tower and tower-house elements, and did not necessarily reflect a rubble spread at the base of the ruined walls, being too regular in character. This feature is therefore best viewed as a platform, possibly deriving from elements of the Period IV complex (13th-century), recycled as a base for the later castle. The indications of a rectangular building were reflected by three sections of walling extending from the terrace, forming the N, S and W walls of a straight-sided structure. The S wall was indicated by a projection from the terrace noted above, and the N wall lay on an alignment approximately opposite the assumed blocked entranceway within the tower-house gatehouse structure. In all, these traces probably relate to the Period IV layout on the site, and have only become obvious due to :
1. The absence of scaffolding, fencing etc.
2. The low vegetation cover during the fieldwork.
If the opportunity were to arise, it would be helpful to mount a small contour survey at this end of the site.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
Kirkdale Archaeology
