Earthwork record MAB43938 - BISHOP'S PALACE, OLD RAYNE

Site of the former summer residence of the Bishop of Aberdeen of which nothing remained in 1845.

Site of the former summer residence of the Bishop of Aberdeen of which nothing remained in 1845. It is believed to have been built for Bishop Alexander Kyninmund who was made Bishop in 1329-40. The lands of Rayne were granted to the bishopric in 1137. It was built on a slight rise and surrounded by a moat. The north and east areas of the moat remain as a well ploughed-down depression, about 1.5m maximum depth and it apparently enclosed an area about 60.0m diameter. Following the granting of planning permission in 1990 for a house on part of this moated homestead, a small excavation was mounted. With the aid of a JCB, a large area 18m by 12m was stripped and cleared to expose the north arc of a wide ditch. This was then cleaned by hand, revealing the remains of a substantial medieval earthwork, steep-sided on its inner face and with a more gradual slope to the outside with an ankle-breaker at the base. The ditch was 2m deep by 6m at widest. Sherds of 14th century pottery were recovered from low in the ditch-fill. Only a small area, 6.50m by 3.50m, of the top surface of the mound was excavated but this revealed several post holes and a drainage ditch. A series of complicated layers were found towards the south-east corner of the trench, while a number of large stone roofing slabs and some mortar- bound stones were found on the south edge of the excavated area, towards the inner part of the mound. A few medieval pottery sherds were also found here. This site was most likely a homestead moat rather than a motte. School sits on top of site. Proposed housing development at this site in 2008 led to an evaluation being carried out by MAS. Phase 1 of the project was an evaluation of the area outwith a proposed protected zone around the remains of the Bishop's manor, which led on to a full excavation of the ditch/moat in Area 2 (Evaluation Trench 7) being carried out. During the excavation, a small quantity of building debris was also revealed which can be said to derive from medieval buildings due to the parallels with material recovered during Phase 2 of this project. Phase 2 was the full excavation of a corridor for the mains sewer running from the village street to the field between the primary school and the house Kyninmund and across the proposed protected zone. This excavation revealed part of the moat ditch, into which 2 cross-sections were dug. Within the interior of the mound area, a small amount of evidence for prehistoric use of the site was found, including some possible ard marks and a flint scraper. Further medieval activity was revealed in the form of pits, an elaborate water cistern and the remains of 2 stone walled buildings. It was also found that following the destruction of these buildings, a number of cooking pits were built within the ruins followed by a period of midden dumping and an accumulation of building debris. A watching brief was carried out by AKD Archaeology in April 2019 during groundworks for a classroom extension at Rayne Primary School. No archaeological features or artefacts were recorded.

Period Notes
1137, 1329-40.

GR/90/CT123-165, GR/90/CT123-165 (Ground Photograph). SAB19122.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 28/09/90 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

SMITH, A, 1875, A NEW HISTORY OF ABERDEENSHIRE, VOL II,1182 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1794.

GREIG, M, 1991, DES : OLD RAYNE, 31 (Bibliographic reference). SAB712.

EXCAVATION

MURRAY, H.K., 2008, BISHOP'S MANOR, OLD RAYNE-EVALUATION PHASE 1 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4609.

Evaluation

BOGDAN, N, 2008, EARLY CASTLES OF ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3811.

BOGDAN, N, 2008, EARLY CASTLES OF ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3811.

MURRAY, H.K, 2012, EXCAVATIONS AT THE BISHOP'S MANOR, OLD RAYNE, ABERDEENSHIRE IN 1990 AND 2007. SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGY INTERNET REPORT 52, Exc rep (Bibliographic reference). SAB5053.

AKD ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, OLD RAYNE PRIMARY SCHOOL, OLD RAYNE, ABERDEENSHIRE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF DATA STRUCTURE REPORT, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB6554.

AKD ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, OLD RAYNE PRIMARY SCHOOL, OLD RAYNE, ABERDEENSHIRE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB7870.

Aug 26 1990 , KQ 8-36, KQ 8-36 (Ground Photograph). SAB33831.

Jan 1 1990 , AAS/GR/90/CT130-165, AAS/GR/90/CT130-165 (Ground Photograph). SAB32781.

Jan 1 1990 , AAS/GR/90/CT402-22,424-34, AAS/GR/90/CT402-22,424-34 (Ground Photograph). SAB32806.

Jul 14 2008 , AAS/08/2/DG9400-1, AAS/08/2/DG9400-1 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB19550.

Jul 23 1996 , AAS/96/09/CT, AAS/96/09/CT (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB16452.

Jul 23 1996 , AAS/96/09/G24/1-3, AAS/96/09/G24/1-3 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB16451.

Jun 6 2008 , DG8947-72, DG8947-72 (Ground Photograph). SAB19471.

Jun 18 2008 , GR0192-0211, GR0192-0211 (Ground Photograph). SAB19470.

Jun 21 2008 , AAS-GR-08-06-001 - 016, AAS-GR-08-06-001 - 016 (Ground Photograph). SAB35865.

Jun 22 1977 , NJ62N 2723229, NJ62N 2723229 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB13806.

BOGDAN, NQ, n.d., EARLY CASTLE OF NE SCOTLAND, No 69 (Bibliographic reference). SAB148.

MEDIEVAL POTTERY

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, No12(1845) 424 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

Sep 1 1990 , KR 16-19, KR 16-19 (Ground Photograph). SAB33834.

Sep 10 1990 , KP 25-36, KP 25-36 (Ground Photograph). SAB33832.

Record last edited

Sep 26 2024 1:17PM