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Excavation

Date 29 January 2002 - 22 August 2002

Event ID 922817

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/922817

NS 087 645 Three phases of work were undertaken during 2002. Firstly, a watching brief was carried out during the excavation of a new trench for the outfall of the rainwater pipe from the new shop site down to the moat. The opportunity to investigate an 'open joint' on the E side of the NW Tower, where the tower meets the curtain, was also taken.

The dark earth deposits are part of the low mound upon which the shop sits. There was no indication as to when these soils were laid down so they may be of some antiquity. They seem to be part of a deliberate landscaping or earthwork programme, which may in turn relate to landfall bridgeworks on the N side of the castle ditch, before the activities of the late 19th century.

The void on the E side of the NW Tower extends downwards from the line of 19th-century rebuild, to a point some 1.2m above the base of the NW Tower. It is generally an irregular feature resembling a crack or fissure in the general face of the tower lower masonry. The void appears to be a result of structural failure or settlement, clearly in place before the works of the Marquis of Bute (1871-9).

Second, a drawing was to be made of a portion of the exterior elevation of the NW or 'Pigeon' Tower.

Lastly, structural evaluation and recording were undertaken in two separate areas of the wall head. This was to precede a programme of wall head consolidation and masonry replacement. The two areas of wall head consisted of a stretch of the W wall head between the NW and SW round mural towers (Area 1) and two sides of the wall head around the top of the Gatehouse (Area 2).

Archive to be deposited in the NMRS.

Sponsor: HS A.

G Ewart, J Franklin and D Stewart 2002.

People and Organisations

References