An Archaeological Excavation at the Horse Cross, Perth

A view of the site of the excavation, looking eastwards  (the large building in the top left corner is Perth Museum)

An archaeological excavation took place in two phases between January and May 2003 at the site of the former General Accident Print Works at Horse Cross in Perth.  The site is currently being developed by Perth & Kinross Council to create a concert and conference venue, adjacent to the Museum and Art Gallery.  This new development lies just beyond the north-eastern corner of the medieval town defences, and the excavation provided an opportunity to examine a medieval industrial suburb.

The site is bounded to the south by Mill Street, to the north by North Port, and was bisected by a street called Castle Gable.  The open space in the middle of the site was known as Horse Cross.  The first phase of the excavation investigated the area to the west side of Castle Gable, where the General Accident print works formerly stood.  The print works was a mid-20th century extension to the Pullars complex.  Some of the wall footings of the Pullars buildings survived on the site, and the Council Offices to the south of the site (along Mill Street) were also once part of the Pullars complex.  The second phase of excavation focused on the area to the east of Castle Gable, where remains of a row of houses survived below a car park.  The site is very low-lying, and was severely affected in the floods of 1993.  Although its exact location was unknown, Perth's castle stood somewhere in the vicinity.  It was destroyed during a flood in 1209, and the area was given over to the Blackfriars, whose monastery lay to the west.

Sub-zero temperatures meant that the ground was frozen solid

Excavation at the southern end of the site revealed a stone-lined culvert with a cobbled floor.  This appears to have taken water from the nearby town lade, and is associated with a mill that stood on the site in the 19th century.  There are also pits in this area, of late medieval date.  Further to the north, another pit contained the skeleton of a dog (see below).

Investigating midden deposits

A repaired cobble surface

Part of the floor of a chapel, probably St Lawrence's chapel, first referred to in 1328, was also excavated in the southern part of the site.  Nine graves were cut into the floor.  Among the features we recorded further to the north are remains of the former Pullars buildings and remains of other post-medieval walls and surfaces.  A cobbled surface, which had been repaired using bricks, is shown above (right).  This is adjacent to a stone-lined well, one of three discovered on the site.

Beneath these post-medieval remains lay an extensive area of medieval midden, filling a deep, broad ditch which must have formed part of Perth castle's defences.  We excavated a range of medieval artefacts discarded by the burgh's inhabitants between 500 and 700 years ago, including broken pottery, metallic objects, and shell and animal bones representing the remains of meals.  Excavation of the midden deposits also revealed surfaces, representing yard surfaces laid down on top of midden deposits at intervals.  A line of wooden stakes was also recorded.

A dog burial at the bottom of one of the pits

Near the end of the excavation, a stone bridge was discovered, crossing the medieval ditch at its northern end.  This appears to represent a crossing into the precinct of the Blackfriars monastery.  It is hoped that this feature can be incorporated in some way into the new landscaping around the new concert hall.

Post-excavation analysis of the results of this excavation is currently in progress.

Investigating a stone-lined culvert

The new concert hall under construction after the excavation was completed