Excavation

Date 22 April 2018 - 14 October 2018

Event ID 1104904

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1104904

NT 1794 6429 A programme of archaeological work was undertaken intermittently, 22 April – 14 October 2018. The earliest part of Threipmuir Farm was built in 1773, initially as a short linear E/W range. This range was subsequently extended at least twice and two N/S buildings were added on the N side of each end. The area of land occupied by the farm had been commonty until 1768. Threipmuir Farm was extensively studied as part of The RCAHMS Scotland’s Rural Past Project.

At the time of the SRP study the buildings were very ruinous and the roofs particularly so. The centre part of the main range had been badly damaged by fire c1950 and replaced by virtually flat corrugated iron. The surviving pantiled sections were also very dangerous. Between 2011 and 2016 24m of roof, covering 6 apartments, was replaced with pitched corrugated iron conforming to the original profile of the pantile roof. The buildings are now used by Youth Vision, a local charity.

The farm originally had mixed use (the original tack document still exists). When Threipmuir reservoir was completed in the late 1840s a significant area of the farm was inundated. The 1851 census records a shepherd and housekeeper in residence.

The W N/S barn looks to have been a winnowing barn originally but a horse engine was added to its W side probably around 1800. It probably drove a threshing machine within the barn. However, the building of the reservoirs changed the nature of the agriculture of the farm rendering this machine redundant and the building is shown roofless on a map of 1843.

Over the years odd bits of gearing, no doubt related to the horse engine, have turned up randomly, and it was felt that a comprehensive excavation of the building would be of interest, given its early date of abandonment. The structure survives as three broad mortar-bonded piers on the S, W and N sides of the ‘circular’ structure. These would have supported the roof along with the wall of the W barn. The spaces between the piers would have allowed access to the interior of the building. As is typical with many ruined rural buildings, the ‘gin’ has been used as a dump for waste. This was to ensure broken glass, pottery etc were kept clear of animals and children.

Excavation began with the opening of a 2m wide trench between the N and S piers, a total length of 7.2m. This trench was initially subdivided into 4 sondages. The overburden measured 0.5 – 0.6m deep before the small compact cobbling of the horse walk was encountered. It consisted mainly of randomly dumped material varying from a dark humic soil to gritty and sandy clay deposits. Included in the dumped deposits was a myriad of mainly household refuse including enamelled kitchen ware, sherds of pottery, glass bottles, cutlery etc. Clearance of the upper level of the main trench revealed a crude, but deliberate, stone platform on its E side. This is thought to have been a stack stance for winter feed after the gin went out of use.

Further excavation uncovered a ceramic field drain emanating from under the stack stance and running diagonally across the gin floor to exit in the NW corner. The field drain had been laid on top of the cobbled horse walk and was of the extruded type as opposed to the old horseshoe and separate footplate type. Extruded field drain pipes were patented in c1845, which fits in nicely with post-gin use. A flat, thick flagstone with a sub-rectangular recess cut into it was uncovered in the centre of the gin. This presumably held the lower pivot point for a central post which would have had gearing on top linked to an overhead drive into the threshing machine in the W barn. Many of the later horse gins had low level drives which were connected to the operating machinery via a channel below ground level. The NW gap between the piers has been partially filled with rubble built ‘walling’ but the function of this is yet to be determined. There was also evidence that the NW quadrant of the gin may have been used for ironworking, as slag was found in the area, although this may also derive from dumping. None of the glass so far recovered looks to be any earlier than about 1840 – 50, confirming the post-gin dump. A complete clay tobacco pipe bowl stamped ‘TW’, Thomas Whyte, was recovered. This company operated in Edinburgh’s Canongate from 1825 till its demise in 1870.

Archive: TBD

Funder: Youth Vision and EAFS

K Robin Murdoch – Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society (EAFS)

(Source: DES Vol 19)