The Archaeology of the Siege of Leith, 1560

This paper summarises the findings of two evaluations carried out in public spaces in the Leith area, both of which were specifically designed to establish the survival or otherwise of remains relating to the siege of Leith in 1560. Between 6 and 10 November 2006 a trial trenching evaluation was carried out within Pilrig Park to the south of the French citadel to 'ground truth' geophysical anomalies identified during a previous phase of work (Banks et al. 2006) and also to establish the character of topographic features on the ground. The main aim of the project was to establish the presence or absence of remains related to the siege fort known as Somerset's Mount which from a map drawn in 1560 is known to have been located in the vicinity. The evaluation identified the remains of a WWII air raid shelter, the remains of a building associated with Pilrig House demolished sometime in the early to mid 19th century, and a possible ditch associated with the fort, into which several archaeological features including the foundation slot of a small building or other structure and a probable blacksmith's forge had been cut.The second part of this report concerns the evaluation at Leith Links, around 1 km to the north east of Pilrig Park and to east of the French citadel. A week long evaluation similar to that carried out at Pilrig took place in April 2007, the aim being to locate further evidence for siege works. Once again, attention focussed on geophysical anomalies resulting from the previous survey. The Links are traditionally associated with the siege through the presence of two mounds, which at least since the 19th century have been identified as the platforms for siege guns directed against the eastern face of the French citadel. An area between the two mounds, which are scheduled ancient monuments, was trial trenched along with an area further to the north. Only the latter produced physical remains which seem to relate to the 1560 map. These took the form of an earthen bank and possibly related ditches which run along the same alignment as a feature shown on the early map, though there is some question as to its function

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Siege · Archaeological Research and Protection · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Medieval European History and Architecture

• Fortifications, Archaeology of

  Open Access•Tony Pollard•Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology•2020

  Add to list

• The Fort and House on the Hill

  Open Access•Steven Watt•Scottish Archaeological Journal•2026

  Add to list

• Now the Wars are Over

  Open Access•Tony Pollard, Iain Banks•International Journal of…•2010

  Add to list

• The 1560 fortifications and siege of Leith

  Kevin Paton, Martin L Cook et al.•Post-Medieval Archaeology•2016

  Add to list