Watching Brief

Date 13 October 1999

Event ID 882881

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/882881

NT 650 203 The removal of gravel and underlying deposits was monitored in October 1999 in the S choir aisle in Jedburgh Abbey. The area was to be paved in order to facilitate wheelchair access. An additional hole was dug outside the SE corner of the S choir chapel in order to unblock a rainwater drain.

The earliest context encountered within the S choir comprised the sandstone foundations for the 12th-century pier forming the corner junction between the S choir aisle and the S transept. The interpretation of a stone feature at the base of the SE crossing pier was less clear. It does not appear substantial enough to be part of the pier foundations, although it might have been part of a hurried attempt to repair or prop up the base of the pier; the floor level appears to have sunk under the weight of the stonework. Another possible interpretation is that this is a remnant of a cross-wall keyed into the base of the pier, forming part of the E side of the first post-Reformation parish church.

No deposits of significance were disturbed in either of the areas excavated. The layers removed in the abbey church support the conclusion that there has been wholesale disruption of the floor levels within the building. The structural remnants at the base of the piers in the S choir aisle were left in situ and will be avoided when the new pavement is laid.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

P Sharman 2000