Archaeological Evaluation

Date 6 September 2018 - 8 September 2018

Event ID 1087439

Category Recording

Type Archaeological Evaluation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1087439

NS 80946 95714

The Abbey Craig vitrified fort was first noted in the 18th century, and its first plan was by Christian Maclagan, who identified two ramparts. The site was thought to be Sir William Wallace’s Camp for the Battle of Stirling Bridge and was chosen for the construction of the Wallace Monument. The outer rampart was forgotten and overlooked and not included in the RCAHMS’s 1960s plan. In 2001, a watching brief on new lighting cables identified charcoal and vitrified material in the inner rampart which was dated to AD 500–780. Excavations by local authority Archaeologist Murray Cook in 2011 identified a possible third rampart which was associated with reused vitrified material and charcoal dating to around AD 900.Two small trenches were opened, 6–8 September 2018,over a section of the middle rampart by Murray Cook with local volunteers and students as part of Scottish Archaeology Month. The first trench confirmed that the rampart is c3–4mwide and the other exposed a section of the rampart which had been impacted by a Victorian path and was at least 0.7m high. The excavations confirmed the presence of a timber laced rampart, constructed on a bedrock outcrop and identified burnt in situ charcoal and vitrified stone at the rampart’s core, which with assistance from Gordon Noble was dated to AD 689–930. This allows the possibility that the fort was vitrified twice and may also suggest that Abbey Craig was one of the last forts in Scotland.

Archive: Stirling Council Funder: Murray Cook

Murray Cook – Stirling Council

(Source DES, Volume 19)