Muirhouse

Desk-based assessment of historic Ordnance Survey maps undertaken as part of the housing development at Lang Loan, Edinburgh, identified two quarries.

The larger of the two quarries, annotated as Limestone Quarries, is depicted on the Ordnance Survey 6-inch map (Edinburghshire 1855, sheet 6) where it is annotated as ‘limestone quarries’. The quarry remained operational in 1877, but by 1895 was annotated as ‘old quarries’ (Edinburghshire Sheet VIII.NW). The quarry had been partially in-filled by 1909, and was fully restored during the later twentieth century.

The smaller quarry and contemporary quarry pits or shafts are not marked on any of the OS maps. This is likely due either to the scale of recording, or to the possibility that they were in and out of use between the recording of the maps. Additional smaller quarry pits/ shafts uncovered during the topsoil strip likely represent coal mining or exploratory shafts, rather than mining limestone. The coal would have been used at least partially, in lime kilns for sourcing lime from the extracted limestone. This process was usually carried out in close proximity to the quarrying activity.

A second smaller quarry to the West at NT 28315 67385 is also depicted on the Ordnance Survey 6-inch map (1855) is annotated as ‘old quarries’, indicating that the quarries were no longer operational. The 1855 map indicates that trees were growing at this former quarry site and this, coupled with the absence of hachures, suggests that some in-filling of the quarries had taken place.

Quarrying at Gilmerton is known from 1627, however this is likely in reference to the main Gilmerton Coal Quarry located to the east. Information on the limestone quarrying at this location is scarce, although it is noted that limestone quarrying restarted at Gilmerton in 1824 and continued until around 1828 (Russell 2012).

Quarrying ceased at Gilmerton Quarry between 1828 and 1849 due to the expiry of a lease with coal mining restarting in the 1850s. Although there is no documentary evidence that the quarrying of limestone continued when the mine was reopened, the recovery of an 1863 half sovereign although unstratified, may suggest that it did.

Information from Dave McNicol and Nieves Ruiz-Nieto (GUARD Archaeology Ltd) 2 February 2018 and Dave McNicol (GUARD Archaeology Ltd) 12 September 2019. OASIS IDs: guardarc1-304134 and guardarc1-360281

GUARD Archaeology Limited were commissioned by Persimmon Homes to undertake an archaeological monitored topsoil strip, map, and sample at Lang Loan, West Edge Farm, Edinburgh. This work was required as a condition of the planning permission (Planning Ref: 16/06036/PPP) for a residential development on the site. The work was undertaken between 14th May and 16th November 2018, and followed on from a metal detecting survey and trial trench evaluation carried out by GUARD Archaeology Limited between November and December 2017 (McNicol & Ruiz Nieto 2018). The metal detecting survey uncovered a mixture of 19th and 20th century metal finds, including horseshoes, square headed iron nails, and iron agricultural fragments. The trenched evaluation uncovered a number of features relating to quarrying activity across the site. As a result of this previous phase of archaeological investigation, a total area amounting to 45,148 m2 (approximately 69 % of the development area) was stripped of topsoil to establish the extent of the archaeological features on site. This revealed 118 features associated with nineteenth century quarrying activity in the area, as well as medieval agricultural features, in the form of a series of rig and furrow, and a 1863 gold half sovereign.

Information from Dave McNicol (GUARD Archaeology Ltd) 12 September 2019. OASIS ID: guardarc1-360281