Archaeology Notes

Event ID 775688

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/775688

NO51NW 74.12 51306 16587

Foundations; Bell mould

NO 513 165 Monitoring of construction work for a new music school in the playground of St Leonards School was carried out in July 1985. The cutting of foundation trenches by the developers revealed the foundations of the N and S walls of a large stone building. The two walls ran on an EW alignment and were 5.10m apart. The two walls were sealed under a large deposit of rubble and mortar some 1.6m below the playground. The fragmentary remains of a possible clay floor were revealed under the dump of rubble. The most interesting discovery was 271 pieces from at least two bell moulds. Many of the pieces retained the impression of a textile bandage used to reinforce the mould before it was fired. Unfortunately the pieces may be too small to attempt a reconstruction. The location of the mould fragments within the building may suggest that it had a bell tower as bells were normally made as close as possible to where they woudl finally hang. Other finds recovered include medieval window glass, window lead and a few sherds of medieval pottery. The stone building recovered was almost certainly part of the Abbot's Guest Hall of the Augustinian Priory.

Sponsors HB and M

D W Hall 1985