Excavation

Date 4 July 2011 - 10 July 2011

Event ID 961769

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/961769

NJ 76393 39277 Following a successful evaluation in 2010 (DES 2010, 21) six trenches were excavated, 4–10 July 2011, to determine the extent of the possible chapel building and to look at the inner garden. The foundations of a small stone building measuring c3.66m E–W and 10.98m N–S were recorded. The floor consisted of water washed cobbles, and a line of postholes indicated that a wooden structure had been positioned along the inside of the W wall. Finds from the building include sandstone fragments, slates, iron nails, window glass and clay pipes consistent with an early 17th-century date. The heel of a clay pipe with a maker’s mark is attributed to Reijnier Jansz Blom who was working in Gouda c1650–1670. The building is too small and positioned too close to the castle for an agricultural building, and possible interpretations include a summerhouse and a private chapel. The building had been sited within an inner garden surrounded by a substantial sandstone wall. Within this garden one trench revealed a series of turf beds, pink sandstone and grey cobbled surfaces, which together would have created the range of colours and textures required in gardens of this period. Parallels may be drawn with Gordon's view of Heriot's Hospital drawn in the mid-17th century.

Archive: RCAHMS and the National Trust for Scotland

Funder: The National Trust for Scotland

Cameron Archaeology 2011