Watching Brief

Date 19 July 1999 - 20 July 1999

Event ID 1028428

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1028428

Between the 19th-20th July 1999, Kirkdale Archaeology were asked to monitor the digging of a trench for a telecom cable at Tolquhon Castle. This trench was to connect the Custodian's cottage with the cottage next to the Gatehouse, now used as the entrance and shop for the Castle, a distance of some 41m.

The area to be dug was split by a wall running NW from the corner of the custodian's cottage, with 17m of the trench being to the W of this wall, and the last 14m running parallel to the E side of it. The trench was hand dug, varying between 25-30cm wide, and 40-50cm deep.

Below topsoil was a rubble filled loam, full of slates, ceramic drainpipe fragments, etc. some 20cm thick. This sealed an area of apparent cobbling pressed up against the wall, some 105cm wide, constructed of half a dozen split granite cobbles laid flat, and pressed down into a deposit of light brown fine silt which continued W beyond the cobbling, until truncated by the cut for the pipe. This produced no finds, and averaged 30cm thick before bedrock was encountered. At the wall itself, the cable was to be fed through an extant gunloop, which was some 17cm above the cobble surface, so this was left in situ, with the cable to be laid directly over it.

Sponsor : Historic Scotland

D Murray

Kirkdale Archaeology