Excavation of Medieval Partick 2016

Abstract

GUARD Archaeology Ltd were commissioned by Scottish Water to undertake an archaeological watching brief during ground works associated with the installation of a waste water outfall and associated Combined Sewer Outflow (CSO) as part of development works at Castlebank Street, Partick. Earlier adjacent archaeological works had identified a large ditch and sandstone well on the periphery of the area to the south-west ( Green 2019 ). The archaeological watching brief included the initial monitoring of borehole drilling, expanding to all overburden stripping along the full length of the working area for the drainage tract as well as the adjacent CSO area, stretching from the existing River Kelvin's edge to the boundary of Castlebank Street. The works identified the remaining extent of previously identified features, along with a wide range of further features of interest. These consisted of several distinct phases of structural stonework and two substantial intersecting ditches; a substantial assemblage of pottery was also recovered, along with several metal objects including a medieval decorative pin and a copper alloy decorative boss. The stonework likely relates to the seventeenth century Hutcheson's tower house, with some of the earlier deposits, pottery and metal objects possibly originating from activity around the earlier twelfth century Bishops' residence. Bore hole monitoring was undertaken in early 2016, while overburden stripping and archaeological excavation took place between February and August 2016.