Edinburgh, Craigmillar Castle Road, Craigmillar Castle, Dovecot
Boundary Wall (Period Unassigned), Dovecot (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Edinburgh, Craigmillar Castle Road, Craigmillar Castle, Dovecot
Classification Boundary Wall (Period Unassigned), Dovecot (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 255141
Site Number NT27SE 107.02
NGR NT 28849 70915
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/255141
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
Watching Brief (16 February 2009)
NT 2885 7091 A watching brief was carried out 16 February 2009 during the excavation of two small trenches for the base of a new bench near the dovecot. Upper landscaping layers of unknown date overlay demolition debris, which may have been added to the site during landscaping.
Archive: RCAHMS (intended)
Funder: Historic Scotland
Alan Radley – Kirkdale Archaeology
Watching Brief (16 February 2009)
NT 2893 7091 A watching brief was carried out 24 April 2009 during the excavation of two small trenches for new signs near the ticket office. The trenches contained deposits rich in brick fragments. These deposits probably related to the construction of the nearby 18th-century Craigmillar Castle Cottages (NT27SE 5812). A rough surface in one trench may have been an earlier access road.
Archive: RCAHMS (intended)
Funder: Historic Scotland
Informatino from David Murray (Kirkdale Archaeology) 30 March 2009. OASIS ID: kirkdale1-249666
Watching Brief (15 June 2009 - 9 September 2009)
NT 2885 7091 A watching brief was carried out 15 June–9 September 2009 during consolidation work on the
boundary wall. Trial trenches excavated on both sides of the wall revealed recently disturbed deposits containing an abundance of late 19th-century finds. These included brick and glass fragments and a substantial quantity of pantile, possibly indicating the presence of a now demolished roofed structure next to the wall.
The wall was a in poor condition, partly as a result of damage caused by tree roots and there were several areas of repair. Some fragments of stone used in the wall had probably been taken from the nearby ruin of Holyrood Abbey. Following examination and recording a 7m wide section of wall was demolished. Further investigation revealed that there had been at least two phases of boundary wall construction, and that most of the earlier wall had been removed during the building of the later wall. The later wall had also undergone
numerous repairs.
Archive: RCAHMS (intended)
Funder: Historic Scotland
Alan Radley – Kirkdale Archaeology
