Archaeologists excavating a building site and former car park in Edinburgh's Old Town made an exciting discovery when they unearthed what they believe to be the foundations of a monastery built by a mediaeval King of Scotland.
Three buildings of historical significance were known to be associated with the site, the 18th century Old High School, the 16th century Royal High School and the 13th century Blackfriars monastery.
The monastery was founded in 1230 by King Alexander II of Scotland. The exact location of he monastery, destroyed around 1588 during the Protestant Reformation, has since been unknown so this is a very significant discovery in attempting to understand Edinburgh's mediaeval past. Among the artefacts uncovered was a sandstone slab carved with a Calvary Cross and an ornate sword suggesting the grave of a mediaeval knight. A further examination is being made of the associated skeleton to ascertain where the person was born and how he lived.
I mentioned in previous blogs the work of Michael Harrison exploring the continuity of usage in city ccentres. Its interesting to note that this car park has been associated with seats of learning going back nearly a thousand years at least. Currently the Department of Archaeology of Edinburgh University is sited just yards from the excavation site.
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