Excavation

Date July 2008 - August 2009

Event ID 609113

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/609113

NO 11448 26643 Trial trenching was undertaken in the grounds of Scone Palace on the site of Scone Abbey and

Moothill mound in two seasons in July 2008 and August 2009. Trenches were targeted on the basis of findings from geophysical surveys undertaken during 2005 and 2007 (see DES 2007). An additional geophysical survey was completed over the site of the abbey and neighbouring medieval village of Scone during 2008. Ground-penetrating radar identified the site of the S and W range of the abbey cloister. On the site of the abbey, trenches were opened over the N wall of the N transept, the N aisle arcade in the E limb of the abbey church, the W crossing piers, the S wall of the nave, the presumed site of the S transept and chapter house, and the N

wall of the refectory. The six trial trenches measured 2 x 4m, though small extensions were completed where necessary. Most of the abbey walls had been removed during post-reformation robbing, as had been expected from the geophysics results of previous seasons. Only occasional fragments of in situ foundations were encountered, including the remains of a buttress on the N wall of the N transept, which was specifically targeted by the geophysics. The depth and survival of archaeological deposits decreased from the northern top of a landscaped slope beside Scone Palace, beneath which the abbey remains have been concealed by

post-medieval landscaping. The preservation of the abbey church’s remains was notably better than that of the cloister and monastic buildings. Substantial foundations were located at the site of the church crossing. These consisted of undressed sandstone boulders bonded with mortar. A minor slot was placed through these foundations to investigate a linear geophysical anomaly that ran down the middle of the abbey church. Large dressed stones were uncovered beneath the crossing foundations that formed the fill of a feature extending beneath the W and E baulks. This may be the robbed remains of a wall from an earlier church. The site of the S wall of the abbey church’s nave and N wall of the N transept were represented by large backfilled robber-trenches. In situ inhumations were encountered close by the site of the church walls, within the church and

on the exterior of the N transept. A fine medieval dress-pin, provisionally dated to the 13th century, was found in

redeposited soils used for post-medieval landscaping over the abbey church nave. Two unstratified late medieval coins were also discovered on the site of the abbey church. Very few remains of the S transept or chapter house were found. In contrast, a substantial robber trench was discovered at the site of the refectory N wall. From the slot across this feature, multiple fragments of fine ornamented medieval masonry were recovered, including examples of 13th-century stiff leaf design in red sandstone, probably from column capitals.

At the Moothill two trial trenches were excavated, one at the northern base and the other at the SE base of the mound. These measured 12 x 4m and 15 x 2m respectively. The trenches were located to investigate the line of a geophysical anomaly interpreted as a large in-filled ditch. The N trench recorded substantial quantities of redeposited natural sand and sandstone rubble used for landscaping. Numerous tree boles indicated post-medieval plantations in the estate gardens. Underlying this was a deep deposit of loamy soil containing late medieval pottery within which was a horizon of sandstone rubble including sculptured masonry fragments. This overlay a spread of charcoal above natural sand. Geophysical results indicated that the targeted ditch

feature is located S of a 19th-century water pipe near the base of the Moothill, beyond the area of excavation and in part beneath the N slope of the mound.

The SE Moothill trench was located across a clearly resolved section of the ditch anomaly. A large ditch was found beneath landscaping layers. A 1m wide slot was excavated across the ditch to the bottom of the feature. The ditch measured 8m wide with natural sand at the base, just under 3m below the modern ground surface. On the upper inside slope of the ditch a cut slot feature was found around the historic base of the Moothill. In the base of this were hexagonal stakeholes, interpreted as the remains of a fence or palisade structure

enclosing the mound. This feature had been cut through ditch fills containing medieval pottery. The ditch was

U-shaped in profile and contained multiple sandy fills with variable clay and silt compositions. The lower fills contained dense inclusions of animal bone, charcoal fragments and medieval pottery. Bulk samples of all fills were taken for environmental analysis and radiocarbon dating. Samples were also taken from the section for thermoluminescence dating. Confirmation of the ditch illustrates that the Moothill mound is likely to have been substantially altered and supports the artificial origins of the Moothill. The 2008–09 excavations were aimed at evaluating the archaeological remains; fieldwork for this stage of the project is now complete and post-excavation analysis is underway.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Hunter Archaeological Trust; Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust; Russell Trust; Society of Antiquaries of London; Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Strathmartine Trust

Oliver JT O’Grady – Moothill and Abbey of Scone Project