Archaeology Notes

Event ID 712036

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/712036

NT18NE 8.00 19239 85469

NT18NE 8.01 19307 85400 Dovecot

NT18NE 8.02 192 854 Garden

NT18NE 8.03 1904 8565 Garden

NT18NE 8.04 19109 85369 West Gateway

NT18NE 8.05 19323 85518 Walled Garden

(NT 1924 8547) Aberdour Castle (NR)

OS 6" map (1966)

Aberdour Castle, which is under guardianship, is fully described in the attached guide. The remains are in an excellent state of preservation.

M R Apted 1966

Visited by OS (AC) 11 March 1959

No change to previous information.

Visited by OS (BS) 17 December 1975

A broken semicircular enamelled copper alloy ornament was discovered during MoW excavations in the 1950's.

C Bourke and J Close-Brooks 1990

NT 1924 8547. The excavation of inspection pits in advance of wall stabilising measures was monitored by Kirkdale Archaeology on the N terraces of the 16th and 17th-century garden layout. The terraces comprised massive dumps of humic earth, with evidence for the method of terrace construction in the form of tip lines, suggesting that the terraces and their retaining walls were raised concurrently. A further trench was excavated on the S side of the doocot, where evidence for modern stabilising measures was revealed, in the form of a massive concrete support around the base of the wall.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

G Ewart and A Dunn, 1996

NT 1924 8547 A short programme of excavation was carried out during early 1999 on the terraces situated against the S side of Aberdour Castle. Detailed evidence was recorded of the sequence of alterations to the terraces and 16th-century terrace walls, and various garden features were also encountered.

A fuller summary has been lodged with the NMRS.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland.

D Stewart 1999.

NT 1924 8547 An evaluation in May 2003 comprised the excavation of a series of test pits to assess the impact of planting a protective hedge line on one of the terraces in the gardens. This terrace, the second terrace down from the castle on the N side of the gardens, is one of the last survivors of the original arrangement of seven terraces around the N and W sides of the area to the N of the castle. It was shown that excavation up to 500mm was unlikely to disturb significant archaeological remains.

Archive to be deposited in the NMRS.

Sponsor: HS

G Ewart 2003