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Watching Brief
Date August 2007 - July 2008
Event ID 575838
Category Recording
Type Watching Brief
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/575838
NJ 9422 0734 Work was conducted August 2007–July 2008 during the redevelopment of a c3.38ha site. The earliest known record of the site is during the medieval period, with documentary evidence of a leper hospital and a chapel dedicated to Saint Ann, the exact site of which is unknown. In 1861 a Militia Barracks was built, occupying the northern half of the site. This is shown on historical maps as a quadrangle arranged around a parade ground. The offices of the First Bus Depot appear to conform to the configuration of the main barrack buildings on the E side of the quadrangle. The buildings served the needs of the Royal Aberdeenshire Volunteers until they were taken over by the Aberdeen Corporation Tramways. The site was developed as a tram depot and subsequently as a bus depot, still in use today. A Level 1 standing building survey was carried out of the depot prior to its demolition.
A limited number of archaeological features and deposits were recorded during the watching brief. These are all likely to be 20th-century in date and included a concrete plinth, a possible ditch feature, and the remains of a brick-built structure (possibly an outside toilet). No features relating to the leper hospital or of earlier periods were uncovered. The work demonstrated that there are up to at least 4m of modern made ground. There has also been extensive past disturbance from the insertion of services and remodelling of buildings.
The evaluation covered c14% of the new office footprint and revealed a concrete floor and wall which probably
represent the remains of an open-ended tram shed, possibly for maintenance. A deep soil deposit containing 19th-century pottery and glass filled a natural hollow, and may represent deliberate infilling of the ground before the building of the barracks. Three footings of the interior walls of the former barracks’ N wing were also revealed. No other archaeological remains or structures were revealed.
Archive: Aberdeen City SMR and RCAHMS
Funder: FirstGroup PLC
Cara Jones and Stuart Mitchell (CFA Archaeology Ltd), 2008
