Watching Brief

Date 12 March 2003 - 13 March 2003

Event ID 1034327

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1034327

Under the terms of its P.I.C. call-off contract with Historic Scotland, Kirkdale Archaeology was asked to monitor two small excavations undertaken at Linlithgow Palace on 12-13/03/03. The first of these involved the excavation of a small trench for the erection of a cycle rack near the SW corner of the car park, while the second was the excavation of a shallow track in the basement chamber of the NE corner of the Palace, to allow a light fitting to be inserted into the well.

The trench required for the cycle racks (Trench 1) measured 6.00m EW by 3.00m NS, and was 600mm deep. The N edge lay against the car park, running S towards the boundary fence of the garden for the house now used as the Park Constabulary office. The ground sloped up gently away from the car park, towards the garden boundary, and seemed likely to have been landscaped.

The track within the Palace (Trench 2) was only 150mm wide by 100mm deep, running from the S wall of the room NW for 2.35m, then turning NE for 1.50m, where it hit the well.

The only feature of any archaeological significance recorded was the wall seen in Trench 1. Unfortunately nothing dateable was recovered from its construction cut, so the date of its construction is unknown. The wall was orientated to run towards the middle of what is now the Park Constabulary’s office, to the SW corner of the Palace, although of course it is not known how far this continues outside the confines of the trench. This could indicate that it predates the construction of this (18th-century?) house, possibly acting as a boundary wall for the gardens thought to have lain on the W side of the Palace.

G Ewart 2003

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology