EAB11748 - Watching Brief 2024 - HADDO HOUSE

Cameron Archaeology conducted a watching brief in May 2024 during the excavation of a trench for cable ducting at Haddo House (MAB22622). A light-coloured clay pipe aligned east-west was located circa 1.9 m northeast of the northeastern edge of the base of the modern sundial (MAB22665). The pipe was supported in a matrix of stone, mortar and sand. It is possible the pipe may have been associated with a water feature such as a fountain. The area surrounding the base of the modern sundial was heavily disturbed suggesting a larger feature previously stood in this location. Remains of a stone feature were located circa 6.1 m southeast of the base of the modern sundial and extending circa 1 m northeast-southwest. The stones may be the remains of a low wall or edging feature around formal beds depicted on the 1st edition OS map. Alternatively, they may have been used as a foundation to the pathway around these earlier beds. The watching brief also recorded the foundations of a 23 m long stone wall, approximately 10 m from the eastern wall of Haddo House Hall (MAB22661) under an existing path. The disturbed foundations of another stone wall aligned northeast-southwest were also recorded. A segment of a broken salt-glazed drain was found to be abutting the southeastern wall of the hall; the surviving parts of a soakaway drain associated with the hall.