No abstract

Lead ore (galena) had been extracted from the site of Siller Holes, West Linton (NGR: NT 145 533), from medieval times if not earlier; there, according to tradition, silver was refined from the lead (Pb). Creation of a pond at the foot of Lead Law produced large quantities of textiles, leather and pottery which could be dated to the 12th to 14th centuries; lead, slag and ore were also recovered. As there is no documented reference to the site until the late 16th century, it has not yet been established who was exploiting the minerals.

This paper presents the results of a series of excavations carried out by the City of Edinburgh Council Archaeology Service between 1990 and 1992 in advance of the Edinburgh Park development. Following a programme of test excavations, seven areas were opened up for excavation. Three of these contained significant archaeology dating to the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The main findings included a Neolithic trackway, evidence for Bronze Age settlement and a large stone-built structure dating to the beginning of the first millennium AD.

Investigations on the summit of Traprain Law, East Lothian, recorded and partly excavated approximately 300 sq m of fire-damaged ground immediately south of the summit 'pond'. The majority of the area excavated, roughly 240 sq m, proved either to be outcropping bedrock or shallow sandy loam soils overlying bedrock. These soils contained a range of early and later prehistoric artefacts. The remaining area excavated, roughly 60 sq m, contained a stretch of stone wall interpreted as the remains of a building and associated with quantities of medieval (13th-to 14thcentury) pottery and iron nails. The nature of the medieval use of Traprain Law is reviewed in the light of this. The work was jointly sponsored by Historic Scotland and the National Museums of Scotland.

Lead ore (galena) had been extracted from the site of Siller Holes, West Linton (NGR: NT 145 533), from medieval times if not earlier; there, according to tradition, silver was refined from the lead (Pb). Creation of a pond at the foot of Lead Law produced large quantities of textiles, leather and pottery which could be dated to the 12th to 14th centuries; lead, slag and ore were also recovered. As there is no documented reference to the site until the late 16th century, it has not yet been established who was exploiting the minerals.