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Morham Castle

Castle (Medieval)

Site Name Morham Castle

Classification Castle (Medieval)

Alternative Name(s) Morham Braes

Canmore ID 56415

Site Number NT57SE 24

NGR NT 5568 7231

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/56415

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council East Lothian
  • Parish Morham
  • Former Region Lothian
  • Former District East Lothian
  • Former County East Lothian

Archaeology Notes

NT57SE 24 5568 7231.

(NT 5568 7231) Morham Castle (NR) (site of)

OS 6" map (1969)

Although there are no stones of the castle left, it is remembered as a large and extensive structure.

OSA 1792

The site of this castle lies in an arable field. Nothing is visible on the ground.

Visited by OS (JP) 8 July 1975

This spot, on top of the steep W slope of Morham Braes, is well known as the traditional site of Morham Castle, which the New Statistical Account [NSA] states dates back to at least the 12th century (cf Morham Church: NT57SE 31).

The barony of Morham was finally forfeited by Francis, Earl of Bothwell in 1593.

Name Book 1853; NSA 1845 (J Forsyth)

Activities

Geophysical Survey (8 June 2013)

NT 5568 7231 On the 8 June 2013 EAFS surveyed the assumed site of Morham Castle at the request of East Lothian Council Archaeology Service. Morham Castle dates to the 12th century but had disappeared by 1792. The survey revealed some slight linear high resistance responses in the centre of the survey area with a ‘horse shoe’ shaped anomaly to the SW. They appeared to be bounded by a roughly circular low resistance band of c39m in diameter, possibly delineating an earlier feature. It is thought that the very dry soil conditions may have degraded the survey results.

Archive: East Lothian HER and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: East Lothian Council Archaeological Service and EAFS

Ian Hawkins, Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society, 2013

(Source: DES)

Geophysical Survey (16 March 2014)

NT 5569 7227 The 2013 (DES 2013, 72) ground resistance survey of the assumed site of Morham Castle was extended by 60m to the S, giving a total area of 120 x 60m. The survey, which was undertaken on 16 March 2014, did not find any clear, unambiguous evidence for Morham Castle. The S end of the survey area showed a lower resistance than the centre and N, with narrow higher resistance lines, which appear to be too narrow to be associated with a castle and probably relate to the footings of farming boundary walls and pens or buildings. The higher resistance area in the centre and N of the survey area was fairly uniform but did show some

potential features with slightly higher resistances, some of which appear to be linear, square or rectangular, but the nature of these features is unclear. They may represent slight natural variations in the soil and the underlying geology; however, the possibility that they reflect the presence of rubble spreads from very heavily degraded archaeology cannot be wholly ruled out.

Archive: RCAHMS and East Lothian SMR

Funder: East Lothian Council Archaeological Service and Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society

Don Matthews – Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society

(Source: DES)

Archaeological Evaluation (26 August 2019 - 31 August 2019)

NT 55680 72296 A community evaluation was carried out, in August 2019, at the suspected site of Morham Castle as marked on the OS 1854 map as part of the Whiteadder: Historic Heart of The Lammermuirs Project.

During the evaluation the substantial remains of a curving stone-built wall foundation were uncovered as well as several sherds of medieval ceramics spanning the 12th to 15th centuries and a James IV billion penny (1488–1513). A radiocarbon date sought from the charcoal contained within the in situ mortar deposits on the foundation stones of the wall returned a date of 1295–1400 calAD (SUERC 93261). A series of linear features containing medieval ceramics was also encountered to the S of the building remains. It is likely that these features represent the dismantled and highly truncated remains of Morham Castle.

Work was undertaken as part of Whiteadder: Historic Heart of the Lammermuirs, a community arts and archaeology project led by Scottish Borders Council in partnership with East Lothian Council, and delivered by AOC Archaeology Group and CMC Associates.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: The Fallago Environment Fund and the Scottish Borders LEADER programme

Jessica Lowther − AOC Archaeology Group

(Source: DES Vol 21)

OASIS ID: aocarcha1-369555

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