A historically important site on the outskirts of Ancrum village, near Jedburgh, where medieval bishops from Glasgow are thought to have occupied an extensive palace is to be the subject of further research by archaeologists.
Academics and students from Glasgow University assisted by local volunteers carried out 'digs' at the so-called Mantle Walls site in 2011 and 2012 in a bid to find evidence of the palace's existence. That exercise was deemed a success with a number of artefacts also being discovered.
Now the Ancrum and District Heritage Society [ADHS] has secured funding for a 2019 project estimated to cost £43,000. The Society is currently advertising a contract to be undertaken by an archaeology firm on the scheduled site which was previously a target for metal detectors before it was afforded protected status.
Richard Strathie, joint chair of ADHS, explained: "The society obtained scheduled monument consent to field walk the site and have found masonry, pottery, animal bones, shellfish remains, metal working remains and flints on the site.
"Large blocks of
masonry are still coming to the surface of the site and the purpose of this
year's dig will be to determine if the site is suffering from erosion, locate
the boundary walls of the site and carry out a geophysical survey to
determine the internal walls."
Previous archaeological activity in the field where the palace is thought to have stood was supervised by Dr Adrian Moldanado, of the School of Humanities at Glasgow University.
The reports produced after the fieldwork by Dr Moldanado's team stated: "Volunteer
metal detectorists recovered medieval to modern ironwork, melted lead fragments
and a small collection of post-medieval coins. Two intact lead musket balls
were found along with evidence these were being manufactured on site.
"Overall,
the evidence goes some way to confirming reports of a palace of the medieval
bishops of Glasgow in this area, described as a ruin in the 18th century. It
also provides a glimpse of the afterlife of the monument and the history of the
modern village."
The researchers concluded: "This trial excavation goes a
long way toward confirming Mantle Walls as the site of the supposed residence
of the medieval bishops of Glasgow. Medieval material culture was found from
disturbed deposits, but in situ medieval masonry survived in Trench C to a
depth of 1 metre.
"Along with the largely post-medieval metal-detected finds, this
excavation also raises new and interesting questions about the afterlife of a
medieval monument in the Scottish Borders. The quarrying of medieval ruins for
the construction of modern villages is a common occurrence in Scotland, but
there are hints that this site saw episodes of reoccupation, perhaps even by a
military force as shown by the finds of musket ball manufacture.
"Its location
near the Roman Dere Street and the Battle of Ancrum Moor (1451) show that this
has long been an important nodal point in the landscape, and any future work
will need to bring these later events to bear on the history of this site."
And documents referring to Mantle Walls and its surroundings explain that the
only historical evidence which could apply to this site is contained in 12th
and 13th century charters (the last being dated 1258) of the Bishops
of Glasgow, dated from Ancrum, in which mention is made of the Bishop's house
and his chapel, which was independent of the parish church.
"Since Nether Ancrum
(ie Ancrum south of the River Ale) belonged to the Bishop, and Over Ancrum (ie Ancrum
north of the River Ale) belonged to the monks of Jedburgh (although this also
was in the Diocese of Glasgow), it is probable that the Bishop's residence was
in Nether Ancrum, and not at the site of the mid-16th century Ancrum Castle".
The local heritage society expect to release more details of the new project in March. They have a very informative website at www.adhs.co.uk
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