Edinburgh, Johnston Terrace, General

NT 2511 7339 A watching brief was carried out, 2–4 December 2013, during the excavation of two trenches in advance of the installation of a new rock fall barrier on the N side of Johnston Terrace. There were no finds or features of archaeological significance.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland

Alan Radley - Kirkdale Archaeology

(Source: DES)

NT 2514 7338 (centred on) A watching brief was maintained, 28 October 2015 – 1 March 2016, immediately below the S side of Edinburgh Castle, during path relocation work on the N side of the road. At Johnston Terrace’s SW end, where the present work was concentrated, it skirts the base of the cliffs that form this side of the rock, while further to the NE it runs across the slope below the esplanade. Earlier work had shown that well preserved deposits predating Johnston Terrace’s construction survived along its SE side at the NE end. This was thought to be at least partly because the NW (upslope) side was quarried into the slope, with the material removed from here spread to the SE to provide a level terrace for the road, sealing earlier deposits.

No evidence of natural in situ deposits were recorded in any of the monitored areas, with even the deepest areas of excavation, to 1.10m, containing only evidence of deposits of anthropogenic origin. This is almost certainly a testament to the immense amount of landscaping that the construction of Johnston Terrace involved. The SW end of the road feeds onto a substantial bridge crossing King’s Stables Road, with clear

evidence of the creation of a substantial bank connecting the lower end of Johnston Terrace to this bridge. Indeed, the regularity and coincidence of positioning of the whole slope below the lower end of Johnston Terrace suggests that this is all artificial, relating to the road’s construction.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Historic Environment Scotland

Gordon Ewart – Kirkdale Archaeology

(Source: DES, Volume 17)