Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
Archaeological excavations conducted in 2017 at Grantown Road, Forres form the final phase of works on a residential development that began in 2002. The earlier works examined an area of more than 70ha and confirmed the presence of an extensive Iron Age settlement represented by ring-ditch, ring-groove, and post-ring structures, in association with four-post structures, a souterrain, and metalworking furnaces. The 2017 works (Canmore ID 320363), reported here, have expanded the record of prehistoric and medieval settlement in the area and revealed that a previously recorded cropmark site represented an Iron Age enclosure with a single post-ring roundhouse. Also identified in the present works were an Early Neolithic post-ring structure and a series of pits dating from the Neolithic to the medieval periods with artefact assemblages of pottery, lithics, and stone tools, including a rare fragment of a locally made mortar dated to the 13th century ad.
In 2013 excavation works were undertaken at the location of the former Canongate Charity Poorhouse (or workhouse) on the New Waverley development site, at the junction of Calton Road and Old Tolbooth Wynd, Canongate, Edinburgh. The excavation revealed development of the site from the initial cultivation of the ‘backlands’ in the 12th/13th centuries to the construction of the Poorhouse in 1761. A sequence of buried garden soils/middens relating to pre-18th-century activity was recorded, in addition to the remains of a single burgage plot boundary and associated rig and furrow deposits. Substantial structural features related to the 18th-century Poorhouse were revealed, including sandstone walls with wooden plank and pinion foundation rafting. Seven burials of probable late 17th-/early 18th-century date associated with the Canongate Kirk were recorded along the site’s southern boundary (an eighth had been encountered in 1997). A rich artefact and ecofact assemblage was recovered from the soils and midden deposits, including imported fine glassware. The ceramic assemblage included Scottish White Gritty Ware (SWGW), Scottish Post-medieval Reduced Ware (SPMRW) and Scottish Post-medieval Oxidised Ware (SPMOW), together with high-status imported material such as a Spanish gaming piece and a rare German stove tile. Consumption patterns revealed by the artefact evidence appear to reflect the high status of the Canongate’s inhabitants prior to the greater development of the site during the 18th century. The creation of the Poorhouse stands in stark contrast to this, revealing the changing fortunes of this part of post-medieval Edinburgh.
The excavation work has demonstrated that Tarbert Castle is a construction of King Robert I (1306–1329) showing that both the Inner Bailey and Outer Bailey were built at the same time and not the result of two separate building campaigns as previously thought. The excavation work showed that well-preserved medieval deposits survive across the site also confirming several important aspects of the construction and layout of the castle establishing the presence of two portcullis gates giving access into the Outer Bailey also shedding light on the corner tower at the southwest of the same enclosure. The excavation also located the remains of one medieval building along with medieval deposits lying on the ridge south of the main castle, these confirmed the presence of the medieval burgh previously postulated as being in this area. Intriguingly an early historic 7th–8th century date was recovered from a deposit sealed below the castle walls which raises the possibility of the site being the ‘Tairpirt Boittir’ (spelled in various ways) mentioned in the Irish annals.
The excavation work has demonstrated that Tarbert Castle is a construction of King Robert I (1306–1329) showing that both the Inner Bailey and Outer Bailey were built at the same time and not the result of two separate building campaigns as previously thought. The excavation work showed that well-preserved medieval deposits survive across the site also confirming several important aspects of the construction and layout of the castle establishing the presence of two portcullis gates giving access into the Outer Bailey also shedding light on the corner tower at the southwest of the same enclosure. The excavation also located the remains of one medieval building along with medieval deposits lying on the ridge south of the main castle, these confirmed the presence of the medieval burgh previously postulated as being in this area. Intriguingly an early historic 7th–8th century date was recovered from a deposit sealed below the castle walls which raises the possibility of the site being the ‘Tairpirt Boittir’ (spelled in various ways) mentioned in the Irish annals.
