Excavation
Date 26 March 1996 - 10 May 1996
Event ID 1034225
Category Recording
Type Excavation
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1034225
NS 1941 9447 Excavations were carried out by Kirkdale Archaeology from March until May in the interior of Carrick Castle, a probable 14th-century tower house, on the shores of Loch Goil, Argyll. The entire basement deposits were cleared to bedrock, in advance of continuing renovations being carried out by the owner.
Carrick Castle stands on a rocky promontory, from which it takes its name (Carraig = rock). The castle was erected by the Campbells of Lochawe, and was held for them by a series of hereditary captains, serving as an important staging post and caput for the clan during the 16th and 17th centuries. The castle was bombarded by HMS Kingfisher in 1685, during the ill-fated uprising against James VII, in which the 9th Earl of Argyll was prominently involved. The tower was badly damaged, being rendered roofless, and saw only sporadic occupation from that point onwards.
The recent excavations revealed evidence of occupation and use dating to the latter part of the castle's main period of occupation (ie the later 17th century), although traces of earlier structures and artefacts were recovered (including the possibility of an earlier structure on the site of the present castle). Most of the artefacts recovered date to the later period, but finds of two worked rock crystals may indicate the presence of medieval craftsmen, and the finds of an incised slate and a small copper-alloy bell may also represent medieval occupation. The bulk of finds and structural evidence revealed belong to the 16th and 17th centuries, during which time the castle basement was used variously as a storeroom, arsenal and fortified hold on the loch side. After initial clearance of modern deposits, remains of cross-walls were exposed, revealing that the basement had been sub-divided during its period of use as an arsenal/storeroom. A cache of iron cannon balls recovered from within one of the rooms provided an insight into this period of the castle?s history. Subsequent remodelling occurred, reflected in newly defined access routes within and between rooms, and the creation of a new chamber to the N of the castle.
Beneath the 16th and 17th-century evidence to the N of the basement, the remains of a vaulted chamber, pre-dating the military usage of the castle, were uncovered. Within the chamber floor was a massive, rock-cut pit prison, which probably dated to the initial occupation and construction of the present castle, and which may have pre-dated the vaulted chamber itself. The waterlogged deposits within the pit prison yielded substantial organic remains, including traces of a wooden door, complete with iron studs, structural timbers, and fragments from several leather shoes. The extensive environmental sampling strategy should reveal further evidence of the daily life and economy of the castle's inhabitants.
G Ewart and A Dunn 1996
Sponsor: Historic Scotland
Kirkdale Archaeology
