Archaeology Notes
Event ID 833350
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/833350
NT27NE 968 centred 2725 7658
NT 2725 7658 An archaeological evaluation was carried out on land (2400m2) between Tower Street and Timber Bush. The evaluation trenches comprised 14% of the development area and exposed a length of the rampart of Ramsay's Fort, the NE bastion of the Leith fortifications constructed between 1548 and 1559 by the French. The wall survived up to 1.8m high and comprised three elements: an outer northern face of around six courses of rounded stones, measuring up to 0.6 x 0.7 x 0.8m; an inner core of possible mortared stone; and a possible inner face of dressed stone. Within the interior of the fort were a series of midden layers dating to the mid-17th century.
In addition to these works, a programme of historic building recording was undertaken within the development area, on warehouse structures ranging in date from the early 19th century to the early 20th century.
Sponsor: Bryant Homes Scotland Ltd.
M Cook 2001
NT 2725 7658 An archaeological excavation was carried out prior to housing development at this site which lies within the area thought to contain part of the wall of the 16th-century Ramsay's Fort. No trace of Ramsay's Fort was found through excavation and it is possible that it lay further to the W or S of the present site.
A substantial wall of later date was uncovered. This is thought to be part of a fortification built by Edinburgh Town Council in 1649 to protect against attack from parliamentary forces following the execution of Charles I. This was later faced with a sea wall constructed from rounded boulders. Inclusions of glass slag within this structure suggest that it dates to the mid-18th century or later. Midden deposits containing large quantities of pottery, both local and imported wares, and clay pipe dating to the 17th to 18th centuries were also uncovered, together with quantities of glass slag. The probable 17th-century fortification and the sea wall have been preserved in situ outwith the footprint of the proposed development.
Sponsor: Bryant Homes Scotland Ltd.
H Moore and G Wilson 2001
NT 2720 7658 A programme of site assessment and building recording was carried out in advance of housing development. The site lies to the immediate W side of the site of recent archaeological investigations (DES 2001, 44). Three large walls and a midden spread were identified during trial trenching. Two of the walls, previously seen in 2001, are thought to represent a fortification of 1649 with an 18th-century sea wall built against it. The third wall was of a more substantial nature and may represent part of Ramsay's Fort, built between 1548-59. A programme of building recording was undertaken on the upstanding remains on the site.
Sponsor: Bryant Homes.
H Moore, G Wilson and J Franklin 2002
