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News in 2014

Aerial view of Ravelrig palisaded settlement © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

An Iron Age Room with a View posted December 2014

Archaeological investigations undertaken a few miles to the west of Edinburgh have revealed new insight into Early Iron Age settlement patterns in the central belt of Scotland.

Location of Ravelrig Bog © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

New research into the vegetation history of central Scotland posted October 2014

A peat core taken from Ravelrig Bog, close to a number of later prehistoric settlements to the west of Edinburgh, contained palaeoenvironmental material spanning the entire Holocene period.

Roman javelin head from Carzield

Boots on the Ground' the Roman way posted September 2014

Archaeological investigations undertaken a few miles to the north of Dumfries by GUARD Archaeology, which have just been published, have revealed new insight into the Roman Army's occupation of southern Scotland during the second century AD.

Station Square

Stirling City Centre Dig reveals glimpse into medieval past posted September 2014

A current excavation by GUARD Archaeology, which is being carried out as a condition of planning permission for a major development in Stirling city centre, has uncovered human remains, walls and artefacts from Stirling's medieval past.

Excavations at Kintore

Kintore excavation reveals glimpse into medieval rural past posted August 2014

A recent excavation by GUARD Archaeology, which was carried out as a condition of planning permission for the development of a new electricity substation near Kintore in Aberdeenshire, has uncovered medieval archaeological remains of national significance.

Museum of Edinburgh at Huntly House

Archaeological excavations within the core of the Canongate posted August 2014

GUARD Archaeology Ltd in partnership with the Museum of Edinburgh at Huntly House in the Canongate, and the City of Edinburgh Council Archaeology Service, are currently undertaking a small archaeological investigation in the courtyard to the rear of Huntly House over the week 4 – 8 August 2014.

Tigh Caol underway © GUARD Archaeology

Dig reveals snapshot of 200 year old Drovers' Inn posted June 2014

A GUARD Archaeology community excavation in Argyll has recently completed the first such excavation of a Drovers' Inn anywhere in Scotland, revealing a snapshot of how it was used before it was abandoned almost 200 hundred years ago.

Structure B. Latrines at right centre. © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

Revealing a WWII POW Camp in Ayrshire posted May 2014

A team from GUARD Archaeology, led by Christine Rennie, recently carried out a watching brief during the removal of topsoil and overburden over the known remains of a Prisoner of War camp within the policies of Dumfries House in East Ayrshire.

Witches' Bridge carrying Telford's Road over the burn

Pub(lic) Archaeology Dig - 26 May To 6 June 2014 posted May 2014

You may have heard of Public Archaeology but a new GUARD Archaeology community excavation has a twist; we are about to start digging a pub, a former Drovers' Inn to be precise and what may be the first such excavation of a Drovers' Inn anywhere in Scotland.

Remains of Mesolithic house at Dunragit © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

Discovering the heart of prehistoric Galloway posted May 2014

Over the last couple of years, GUARD Archaeology teams led by GUARD Archaeologists Warren Bailie and Kevin Mooney, have undertaken excavations at Dunragit in Dumfries and Galloway.

ARO11: Battle site and medieval settlement, the enigma of Yarrowford/Philiphaugh, Selkirk

Archaeological investigations discovers lost medieval village in the Scottish Borders posted April 2014

Archaeological investigations undertaken in the Scottish Borders by GUARD Archaeology have recently concluded that the stone walls, cobbled surfaces and artefacts discovered belong to a lost medieval village dating from between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

IfA Conference Exhibition Area

GUARD Archaeology sponsors session at IfA 2014 Conference posted April 2014

GUARD Archaeology were pleased to sponsor the Politics and Archaeological Research session at the Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) 2014 Conference held at the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow between 9 and 11 April 2014.

General picture of the site prior to archaeological work commencing © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

The cliff-hanging cists of Arran posted April 2014

In March 2012, the landowner and a local resident spotted a short stone cist exposed in the cliff face of a disused quarry at Sannox on the Isle of Arran.

Volunteers breaking ground in the shadow of the abbey tower. © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

Medieval discoveries from Cambuskenneth Abbey posted March 2014

Following GUARD Archaeology's collaboration with the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology Glasgow University (CBAGU) and local volunteers in investigating Cambuskenneth Abbey in 2012, we are pleased to report some post-excavation results of the work, which was funded by the Tread Right Foundation.

Treasure Trove in Scotland Workshop

Treasure Trove in Scotland Workshop posted March 2014

As an IfA Registered Organisation, GUARD Archaeology are committed to the continuous professional development of our staff.

Terraced housing at Grove Street, Edinburgh © GUARD Archaeology Ltd

Anatomy of a burial: unexpected human remains at Grove Street in Edinburgh posted March 2014

In September 2012 the partial and disarticulated remains of at least five individuals were unexpectedly discovered by workmen in the rear garden of a house in Grove Street, Edinburgh.

Surveying at Norham Castle

New investigations planned for Flodden Battlefield Sites posted February 2014

On the run up to the 500th commemoration of the Battle of Flodden in 2013, GUARD Archaeology, in collaboration with the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University, were commissioned by Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum to conduct initial investigations at three sites: Ladykirk, Norham Castle and Ellemsford Haugh.

Inhumation and vessel in the cist

Portrait of an Early Bronze Age Highland Funeral posted February 2014

In March 2012, a GUARD Archaeology team, led by Maureen Kilpatrick, undertook a rescue excavation when a cist was inadvertently disturbed during landscaping works following the construction of an access track through Cullaird Wood in West Torbreck, south-west of Inverness.

Community Archaeology Results from Kilallan Kirk posted February 2014

Last year, a community led project was conducted in Kilallan Kirk, Renfrewshire, by GUARD Archaeology on behalf of Kilallan Kirk Preservation Trust.

ARO7: Beakers and Bunkers; Investigations at Rothes Golf Club

Beakers and bunkers: investigation of a prehistoric burial at Rothes Golf Club posted January 2014

In July 2011 GUARD Archaeology Ltd conducted investigations at the location of a small All-Over Corded (AOC) Beaker found during landscaping works at Rothes Golf Course in Moray.

Archaeological field assessment of human bones findspot at Grove Street Garden

Nineteenth century anatomical skeletons discovered in Edinburgh back garden posted January 2014

In September 2012 the partial and disarticulated remains of at least five individuals were unexpectedly discovered by workmen in the rear garden of a house in Grove Street, Edinburgh.