Stirling, Borestone Brae, Bore Stone
Stone (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Stirling, Borestone Brae, Bore Stone
Classification Stone (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Bannockburn Battlefield; Whins Of Milton; Borestone Brae
Canmore ID 46169
Site Number NS79SE 15.01
NGR NS 79536 90637
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/46169
- Council Stirling
- Parish St Ninians
- Former Region Central
- Former District Stirling
- Former County Stirlingshire
NS79SE 15.01 79536 90637
(NS 7954 9063) Bore Stone (NR)
OS 6" map (1958)
The Bore Stone, situated at the top of Brock's Brae, is described in 1859 as having been nearly circular, 3' in diameter and 2' thick, with a 3" wide hole in the centre. Nimmo's account made the width and depth of the hole about 4". Nothing is known as to the origin of the stone or the purpose of the hole, but the tradition that Bruce's standard was set up in it at the Battle of Bannockburn (NS89SW 11) does not appear on record before 1723 and seems improbable.
The stone, which had become broken into three larger pieces and a number of smaller ones, was in 1960 built into the top of a pedestal of granite setts about 3' high and is protected above by a heavy iron grille.
RCAHMS 1963, visited 1961; Name Book 1859; W Nimmo 1880; J Macky 1722
The fragments of the Bore Stone which were on display have been stolen, and there is little hope of recovering the loss.
Visited by OS Reviser (DH) 19 April 1967
NS 7954 9063 Following probing by the groundsman at Bannockburn (NMRS NS79SE 15), a small trial trench was excavated over the site of the original borestone to determine if anything survived in situ. Excavation revealed the remains of a concrete foundation that appears to have been for a low wall which surrounded the stone and is shown on photographs of the site. Nothing was found of the borestone itself, supporting the report that it had been removed in the 1960s and its pieces incorporated into the nearby cairn.
Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland.
D Alexander 2001
Watching Brief (10 August 2011 - 11 October 2011)
NS 7964 9057 A programme of work consisting of a GPR survey, evaluation and watching brief was undertaken, 10 August–11 October 2011, in the car park of the existing Bannockburn Heritage Centre in advance of the construction of a new heritage centre. The trial trench evaluation consisted of the excavation of ten trenches, covering 360m2, equivalent to 15% of the development area. The trenches were placed in a diagonal pattern across the site and also targeted anomalies identified by the GPR survey. The watching brief monitored the excavation of one borehole and eight test pits. No significant archaeological features were recorded.
Archive: RCAHMS (intended)
Funder: The National Trust for Scotland
GUARD Archaeology Ltd, 2011
Information also reported in Oasis (guardarc1-115070) 27 August 2012
Excavation (5 December 2011 - 12 December 2011)
Excavation was carried out by GUARD Archaeology Ltd on the site of the Borestone and partly over the site of the 19th century custodian's hut.
Information from NTS (DA) 17/01/2012
