Excavation

Date May 2019 - October 2019

Event ID 1103250

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1103250

NJ 5131 2642 The eighth season of excavation at Druminnor Castle (NJ52NW 14) ran from May to October 2019. Findings from previous seasons are reported on separately (DES 2013, 15-16; DES 2014, 16-17; DES 2015, 11-12; DES 2016, 11-12; DES 2017, 11; DES 2018, 9-10) Approximately 2,500 square metres were covered encompassing most of the known footprint of the castle and its immediate gardens.

The survey revealed a range of features. Some could be readily associated with features shown on two 18th-century plans whilst others were completely unexpected. Amongst the unexpected was a shaft situated near the centre of the present car park. Excavation showed this to be a stone-lined well that had lain within the tower and been demolished in 1800. Finds from the well confirm this date as having been the time the well was in-filled. The tower may date to the second half of the 13th century and it is hoped that further excavation here may shed light on that early phase of the castle and confirm its period of construction.

Also unexpected was a collection of features lying within the 18th-century garden precinct but outside a length of substantial stone wall, previously excavated. All of these features were out of use by the time the estate plans were drawn. Excavation of a limited area has revealed two layers of metalled and cobbled surfaces, separated by a substantial layer of soil.

The geophysics revealed the line of the outer garden enclosure depicted on the estate plans. This lay at a depth of approximately 1.5m below present ground level and would have been difficult to locate without the GPR survey. Excavation shows this to have been a substantial wall of at least a metre wide that still survives in this section to a height of almost a metre. It is hoped that further work here will help to answer questions regarding the initial date of this boundary.

Trench 2 was due to be finalised this year but the last half metre brought further surprises. A section of trench, dated previously to AD 1425-1450, was shown to have cut through older archaeological features lurking in the very bottom-most corner of the trench. A planned extension to this trench should clarify the chronology and dating.

Archive: Aberdeenshire Council HER

Funder: Castle Studies Trust for GPR, Aberdeenshire Council for C-14 analysis

Colin Shepherd ̶ Bennachie Landscapes Fieldwork Group

(Source DES Vol 20)