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Watching Brief
Date 12 February 2008 - 8 July 2008
Event ID 577240
Category Recording
Type Watching Brief
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/577240
NT 231 725 (centred on) A watching brief was undertaken on a range of dates between 12 February–8 July 2008 during the construction of a school. It was hoped that any remaining traces of buildings, shown on the 1896 OS map, would be located during the monitoring of soil stripping. The work revealed that the ground had been heavily disturbed during the construction of the City Roads Stone Depot around 1900. Made ground, under the stone cassies, was found to be up to 1.8m deep, suggesting that the water table had been a problem during the construction of the depot. No traces of the buildings shown on the 1896 OS map were discovered. During the excavation of an old sewer, a trench wall collapsed, revealing a barrel well which was then excavated.
The well was found to have been constructed in the 19th century, with voussoir bricks jammed in between the
barrels and the cut for the well. Three barrels fitted with hazel hoops were recorded. The top one was probably
softwood and the two below were oak. The lower barrel was under the water table and could not be investigated fully. The well probably related to one of the buildings shown on the 1896 OS map and may have been used as a domestic water supply. The barrels may have come from a nearby distillery or a local brewery.
Archive: RCAHMS
Funder: Laing O’ Rourke (Scotland) Ltd
Tamlin Barton (SUAT Ltd), 2008
