Watching Brief

Date 30 August 2011 - 31 August 2011

Event ID 980309

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/980309

The excavation of a service trench to the rear of Acheson House, 140 Canongate, Edinburgh. The site is part of the Museum of Edinburgh and is currently being refurbished. The site lies within the medieval core of Edinburgh, within the bounds of the World Heritage Site. Workmen had already collected numerous finds from the soil overlying an existing pipe. Further excavation revealed two thirds of the trench comprised backfill from two separate pipe trenches. Natural bedrock was overlain in the west half of the trench by a layer of light brown clayey silt. A feature filled with stone rubble was cut through this deposit but was not excavated. The feature was overlain by a thin band of midden deposit. At the east end of the trench were the remains of a wall cut into the natural slope, with midden deposits abutting it. These deposits are thought to pre-date the construction of Acheson House in 1633. A thick layer of post-medieval midden debris overlay these features. The remains of a brick path were found in the centre of the trench, truncated by the two pipes. Map evidence suggests demolition of structures to the rear of the house took place in the first half of the 19th century; a brick path in the new open yard or garden may have been added at this time.

Headland Archaeology 2011 (E. Jones) OASIS ID: headland1-108926