George Haggarty

AOL · Scottish History and Archaeology

In 2016, Wardell Armstrong undertook an archaeological excavation at St Mary’s (Leith) RC Primary School, Edinburgh. The archaeological excavation revealed four phases of activity; Phases 1 and 2 comprised coffined and uncoffined human burials. The lack of infectious pathognomic skeletal lesions, the dating of the finds, the dendrochronological ana...

Excavations on the site of the tower-house at Cathcart, demolished in 1980, produced evidence for the construction of the tower and associated barmkin, dated to the mid 15th century. No earlier structural remains were found but residual pottery suggests that the site was occupied prior to the construction of the tower. The interior of the tower was...

The acceptance of Caerlaverock castle into guardianship was followed by consolidation of the masonry and the clearance of the silted moat. In parallel with these operations, a series of excavations was carried out to investigate the nature of the outer defences and any surviving evidence for earlier bridges. Four different phases of timber bridges...

Excavations on the Archerfield Estate, East Lothian, have uncovered evidence in the form of buildings and enclosures, for the lost village of Eldbotle, a settlement which was in use from the 5th century AD to the 18th century, but at its peak during the 13th and 14th centuries. Excavated rural settlements of this date are rare in Scotland so this h...

This is Appendix 15.3 of the McDonald Institute monograph 'Being an Islander: Production and Identity at Quoygrew, Orkney, AD 900-1600', edited by James H. Barrett. The monograph describes archaeological excavations at the site of Quoygrew in Orkney and explores how 'small worlds' both reflected and impacted the fundamental pan-European watersheds...

This paper presents the results of archaeological investigations of the remains of an 18th-century glassworks at Prestongrange Museum, near Prestonpans, East Lothian. The site is part of an industrial complex previously known as Morison’s Haven, named after its associated tidal harbour. It has a long history of coal extraction that was established...

The aim of this summary paper is to review the success of chemical sourcing in the study of the Scottish medieval Whiteware and Redware ceramic industries and outline the methods and protocols that the authors feel should be used to take the technique forward.

Excavations were undertaken in 1981 and 1990–1 at the site of the 18th-/19th-century ceramicsmanufacturing complex of West Pans, near Musselburgh. The foundations of several structures wereuncovered although many proved impossible to interpret or date. Several puddling pits, most of themquite small, were identified, as was part of a hovel (the circ...

The remains of the front of Balmerino House, built in 1631, were uncovered during an archaeological excavation at St Mary's Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, Constitution Street, Leith. The work also revealed several phases of medieval to post-medieval activity, and a small burial ground which predated the house. The earliest feature uncovered...

The remains of two 19th-century row cottages and associated structures and deposits were discovered at Jack's Houses, near Kirkliston. Nearby agricultural remains included a field system with boundary walls, drains and a draw well. A large rubbish dump containing pottery and ceramics has been interpreted as urban waste imported to the site to be ad...

Little surface trace now remains of the royal burgh of Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders, which flourished between the 12th and 15th centuries AD. By the early 16th century it had been abandoned. Documentary sources, maps, topographical analysis and aerial photography have been brought together in a preliminary attempt to define the burgh’s location...

A research project was undertaken at Gilmerton Cove, Edinburgh by CFA Archaeology Ltd in advance of its development as a visitor attraction by City of Edinburgh Council. Historical research indicates that the Cove was built in the early 18th century. Excavation revealed hitherto unknown details of the layout of the Cove, including the presence of f...

The report describes the results of excavations in 1981, ahead of development within the South Choir Aisle of St Giles' Cathedral, and subsequent archaeological investigations within the kirk in the 1980s and 1990s. Three main phases of activity from the 12th to the mid-16th centuries were identified, with only limited evidence for the post-Reforma...

Prior to re-landscaping, an archaeological evaluation was undertaken in August 1998 of the area around the Wallace Memorial in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, which marks the reputed birthplace of Sir William Wallace. In addition to a 16th century structure, known as "Wallace's House", early map evidence suggested that there was a large rectilinear moated...

Excavations were carried out at several points around the late 13th-century Inverlochy Castle between 1983 and 1995. In 1983 the interior of the north-east tower and the area immediately outside its entrance were excavated; and part of what is believed to be an 18th-century building was uncovered against the outside face of the north curtain wall....

This report describes a small rescue excavation and watching brief funded by Historic Scotland. It was carried out between December 1987 and January 1988 on the site of a 19th-century Pottery at Newbigging, Musselburgh. The base of a large kiln, approximately 7 m in diameter with 10 stoke- holes, was recorded. Beneath this structure there was evide...

A short programme of rescue excavation was conducted during April 1987 on the site of the 13th- century Augustinian abbey of Inchaffray by the former Central Excavation Unit (Scotland), in advance of a proposed private building development. The results of the excavation when viewed alongside evidence from recent surveys, documentary sources, as wel...

SUMMARY Excavations outside the Roman fort at Inveresk revealed an extensive and well-established civilian settlement extending along the ridge to the east of the fort and beneath the present village. Four main phases of activity were identified, the middle two (phase 2 and phases 3/4) corresponding to the two periods of the Antonine occupation of...

SUMMARY The following is a report on an archaeological investigation carried out between 1979 and 1981 within and around the barmkin, or courtyard, attached to the medieval towerhouse. Excavation was unable to determine more precisely the date of construction of the towerhouse, but it did demonstrate that the original residence of the Pringle laird...

Evidence for intense occupation, 12th-16th century; a ?mason's lodge was cleared for infirmary buildings, itself abandoned by end 15th for fresh rebuilding. Pottery, petrology.

SUMMARY The following is a report on an archaeological investigation carried out in 1975 and 1976 on garden ground a little to the SE of the surviving architectural fragment of this Border abbey. Evidence was forthcoming of intensive occupation throughout the monastery's existence from the 12th to the 16th centuries. The area, first utilized perhap...