Excavation

Date 27 May 2020 - 30 November 2020

Event ID 1124748

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1124748

NX 69764 53895 After a delayed start because of Covid-19 restrictions, further trial excavations were undertaken in the garden of Mansewood, Tongland on the site of the Premonstratensian abbey (Canmore ID: 64048), founded by Alan, Lord of Galloway in 1218 (see DES 2015–2019 for previous work). The work took place between 27 May and 30 November 2020.

Four trial trenches were excavated, between May and November 2020, in the central part of the lawn area to the S and E of previous trenches, and recovered more structural evidence for the location and plan of the abbey. Trench 24 exposed the E wall of the previously noted structure at the presumed W end of the S range of the cloister. This demonstrated that the structure stood as a separate building (Building A) rather than as part of a continuous range. Its 0.9m wide, shell-mortared foundation included large rounded blocks of porphyrite. The SE corner of the building was identified and the turn of the S wall. Close to this, the N end of a second building (Building B) was found. Its E wall followed the same N–S alignment as Building A, but was offset slightly to the E. Its unmortared foundations and the absence of porphyrite blocks, may indicate that it was constructed in a different phase. Its E wall continued S beyond the limit of the trench; its N wall continued through Trench 27 (3m W of Trench 24) with no indication of a NW corner or a turn for a W wall. There was a gap of approximately 1.5m between the two buildings through which ran the stone-lined water channel or drain recorded in 2019. Aligned E–W, its S side was formed by the N wall foundation of Building B. In Trench 24, remnants of a stone surface adjacent to both buildings, together with a channel capping stone in situ, may indicate that the channel was covered and ran beneath a slype or passage between the two buildings. Similarly, Trenches 25 and 26, excavated on the W side of the two buildings, exposed a rough cobbled stone surface overlying the channel, the line of which continued W through and beyond Trench 25. Much of the stone surface had been stripped away, possibly to rob out the channel capping stones. The stone surface was bounded on the N by a 0.6m wide, unmortared stone wall foundation, largely robbed-out, but originally extending W from the SW corner of Building A. On the N side of the wall, there was a contrasting 1m thick deposit of dark grey-brown clayey-loam, possibly indicative of an open, possibly cultivated, area. Overall, the excavation provided more evidence for the general layout of the W end of the presumed S range of the cloister garth and the peripheral area to its W.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Hunter Archaeological and Historical Trust

David Devereux