The biggest-ever exploration of one of Renfrewshire’s most mysterious historical features is now underway and hopes to unveil some centuries-old secrets of Paisley Abbey’s Great Drain – a complex underground structure which links the town’s 850-year-old Abbey to the River Cart.
The 100m long underground passageway, thought to be more than 700 years old, was unearthed in the 19th century and rediscovered in the 1990s.
The Big Dig hopes to uncover more about the passageway – which, it is believed, sits underneath what used to be a monastery – and to reveal more about life in Paisley hundreds of years ago.
Initial excavations of the site unearthed the earliest polyphonic musical notation and the largest collection of medieval pottery ever found in Scotland – and it is hoped that this two-month long project will uncover many more secrets.
The dig is managed by Renfrewshire Council, run by GUARD Archaeology with help from Renfrewshire Local History Forum volunteers, and supported by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland.
To keep an eye on Big Dig progress, visit www.paisley.is