Excavation

Date 20 September 2010 - 28 September 2010

Event ID 632700

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/632700

NJ 76393 39277 Following a resistance survey by Rose Geophysical Consultants, five trenches were excavated on the lawn of Fyvie Castle, to assess the survival of archaeological features in the immediate environs of the castle. This excavation was undertaken in conjunction with the NTS on 20–28 September 2010.

Fyvie Castle dates to at least the early 13th century. Alexander Seton (Lord Fyvie and 1st Earl of Dunfermline)

acquired the estate in 1596 and proceeded to transform Fyvie Castle into an impressive Renaissance palace. Seton created elaborate garden settings for his other great houses, and it is probable that he did the same at Fyvie. Until now the only evidence for Fyvie’s late 16th to early 17th-century gardens has been an early 19th-century estate plan which shows the location of the ‘old garden’ and an 18th-century sketch by Charles Cordiner in which part of the garden wall can be seen.

The excavation found traces of this perimeter wall and evidence for long-term cultivation within the enclosed

area. The excavation also uncovered a cobbled floor, robber trenches and demolition material which are probably the remains of an external chapel only seen on the Cordiner sketch. This chapel may have been built during the Seton period. The edge of the ‘Barras Green’ enclosure, part of which is still visible as an earthwork, was explored and a narrow wall foundation found indicating that a wall had surrounded this area, which latterly had a metalled surface.

Other features uncovered were a dry stone wall and the base for a clamp kiln with associated daub. Finds included a small number of sherds of prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval pottery, including Chinese porcelain and early post-medieval tin-glazed wares. Building materials included roof slates, floor tiles and sandstone.

Archive: RCAHMS and The National Trust for Scotland

Funder: The National Trust for Scotland

Alison Cameron – Cameron Archaeology