Excavation

Date 1988 - 2001

Event ID 1033418

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1033418

Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society (EAFS) was requested in 1988 by Nicholas M McQ Holmes and by his successors, Mark Collard and John A Lawson of the City of Edinburgh Council Archaeology Service (CECAS), to

examine and evaluate the area between the northern defences of the Roman fort and bathhouse which lie in ground owned by the City of Edinburgh Council.

The objectives of the excavation were to: establish the existence of any Roman period deposits, structures or features; to seek traces of old Cramond village and to record the level of the old ground surface.

As the initial trench necessitated locating the N rampart of the fort, an Ancient Monument, Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC) was sought from Historic Scotland and granted in 1990. In 1999, following enlargement of the

Scheduled Area in 1998, SMC was again sought and granted.

The excavation was carried between 1988 and 2001 by some 120 members of the Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society, an amateur organisation, under the overall direction of the City Archaeologist and under the immediate supervision of Valerie E Dean. As this was done on a purely voluntary basis, work normally took place only on two days per week between Easter and November. This, naturally, led to a somewhat protracted excavation.

The excavation also acted as an introduction to archaeology for a large number of Society members, many of whom went on to gain further experience elsewhere. It also attracted a considerable amount of interest locally and visitors were anxious to be kept informed of developments.