Archaeology Notes
Event ID 714930
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/714930
NT27SE 354.01 25609 73306
NT 2562 7327. A small quantity of human bone was discovered during the excavation of a sewer pipe trench running N from the N wall of Greyfriars Kirk. The bones had been redeposited in the backfill of an earlier modern service trench, which runs E-W under the N edge of the path adjacent to the kirk building.
Sponsor: City of Edinburgh Council.
D Henderson, 1996.
NT 2557 7337 A watching brief was carried out in February 2003 during the excavation of service trenches within the churchyard of Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk. Human skeletal remains were discovered both in disturbed contexts and in undisturbed burials cut into the subsoil. Twenty discrete groups of bones were found and the minimum number of individuals represented is 29. Coffin handles, wood fragments and nails were also recovered. A stone-built culvert was also revealed: its location and alignment suggest that it was once the main sewer leading from the church down towards Candlemaker Row. The skeletal remains will be reinterred.
Report lodged with Edinburgh SMR and the NMRS.
Sponsor: Fouin and Bell (Architects) for Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk.
S Mitchell 2003
INVENTORY OF GRAVEYARD AND CEMETERY SITES IN SCOTLAND REFERENCE:
N.B. This reference applies collectively to NT27SE 354.01, NT27SE 354.03, NT27SE 354.05
Address: Greyfriars Church and Churchyard and Churchyard Extensions, Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh
Postcode: EH1 2QE
Status: Closed for burials but maintained
Size: Churchyard: 1.71 hectares, 4.22 acres; Churchyard extension (354.03): 0.19 hectares, 0.46 acres; Churchyard extension (354.05): 0.27 hectares, 0.68 acres
Polygon: No
TOIDs:
Number of gravestones: 590
Earliest gravestone: c1616
Most recent gravestone: c1900
Description: Burial ground associated with a church
Data Sources: OS MasterMap checked 15 September 2005; Bereavement Services Portal checked 15 September 2005; Graveyard Recording Form dated 31 October 2003
