Building record MAB38315 - EASTERN CEMETERY, ARBROATH

Remains of a souterrain, within a modern cemetery in Arbroath.

Remains of a souterrain, within a modern cemetery in Arbroath. A short, curving length, some 6.7 m long and 1.2 m wide, is exposed to a depth of around 1m with several courses of stonework clearly visible. The souterrain was recognised for what it was in January 1932, although it had previously been encountered during grave digging circa March 1931 onwards with three graves (Mitchell d. 5 June 1931), Ogg (20 March 1931) and Leuchars (11 January 1932) to the south of the exposed section cutting through the chamber. The site was inspected by J. S. Richardson and A. O. Curle in February 1932. Although 22 ft (6.7 m) of the passage, including the narrow entrance, is exposed and preserved, circa 25ft must lie below the graves to the south. The remainder cannot be traced so the overall length and shape remains unknown. The main passage is circa 4 ft wide and the walls show signs of having been corbelled inwards. It is built into a clay knoll, the cemetery site being composed of clay and sand knolls. Pieces of bone and a row of animal teeth are the only known finds.

WAINWRIGHT, F. T., 1963, THE SOUTERRAINS OF SOUTHERN PICTLAND, 160-1 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2085.

Coutts, H, 1970, [Untitled], 44 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11142.

Barclay, G, 1981, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 110, passim (Bibliographic reference). SAB5570.

Record last edited

Jan 13 2026 5:02PM