Excavation

Date April 1998

Event ID 550985

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/550985

NT 2710 7651 An archaeological excavation was carried out in April 1998 prior to development of a gap site situated on the northern edge of the medieval port of South Leith and overlying part of the site for the late medieval royal complex, the King's Wark (constructed c 1433-65). A post-medieval moulded stone doorway, decorated with the armorial device of the mid-16th-century Queen Regent Mary of Guise, was incorporated and reused within the present street frontage and will be retained within the new building.

Four trenches were excavated across the footprint of the proposed development and revealed that the survival of stratified archaeological deposits was constrained by the presence of a complex series of late post-medieval (17th-18th century) cellars; as such the archaeological remains were restricted to the southern third of the site. The stratified sequence of deposits and walls revealed five main phases of occupation: pre-15th-century midden and beach deposits; construction of the King's Wark complex; late 15th-century land reclamation to the E of the King's Wark complex; probable late 16th-century reconstruction of southern range of the King's Wark known as 'The Vaults'; and 17th to 18th-century redevelopment. Of particular interest were the remains of a 15th-century sea wall or quay, running E-W across the S of the site. The position and date of the wall suggests that it relates to the King's Wark complex, although an earlier date of construction is also possible.

Sponsor: Gregor Homes.

J A Lawson 1999