Archaeological Notes on Some Harbours in Eastern Scotland 201
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Archaeological Note somn so e Harbour Eastern si n Scotland by Angus Graham The purpose of this paper is to record and discuss the remains of a series of old harbours. archaeologican a s i t I l exercise historicad an , l matte onls i r t servei y s introducea o r st fa o s n di explai r illustratno e structureseth survee Th . y cover coast-line sth e from Burnmoute th o ht Perthshire-Angus boundary, and was carried out between 1966 and 1968. Subjects in all states of preservation have been included, together with ferry-terminal certaid san n unimproved landings which were never developed as havens, but no attempt has been made to deal with the technically advanced workindustriae th f so l period harboure Th . describee sar alphabetican di l orderd an , a list arranged in topographical order, to correspond with the map (fig. 1), is given at Appendix A. Plans, where given, are sketches adapted from Ordnance Survey maps. The plates represent a selection from abou hundrea t twentd dan y photographs lodgew no , d wit Nationae hth l Monu- ments Record of Scotland. The descriptions are preceded by an Introduction summarising the resultsurveye th f so , with observation somn so e point f interestso . Abbreviated title f somso e source t commonlsno y quote expandee dar Appendidn i . xC wisI recorho t . indebtednesDobiey R d m . M , r C.B.E.M l stagee o st helr al th ,fo f n p i so work; to Miss A. Young and the staff of the National Library Map Room; to Mr R. G. Cant, Mr J. di Folco, Miss J. Gordon, Mr J. Howdle, Dr M. Pyke, Dr J. S. Richardson, Mr B. C. Skinner, Mr D. A. Stevenson, and to all local informants not mentioned in the articles INTRODUCTION Origins and functions The sites included in this study number no less than a hundred and twenty-five, and this figure, like the pattern of distribution (fig. 1), reflects the operation of many diverse causes over a period of several centuries. Some of these causes have worked at all periods alike, and among these the most important probably has been the wealth of the local fisheries - particularly, until recent years vere th ,y large catche herringf o s fisheriee Th . s constantly figur locan ei l history, from legendary times, when fish were believed to have helped St Kentigern's mother in the course r miraculouohe f s voyages, unti latels a l 1965s ya , when Eyemouth harbou reorganises wa r n di the fishing interest. Again, harbours on these coasts were placed conveniently for contact with the eastern English and northern Continental ports, a fact of great importance for the trade of the Royal Burghs, whatevef o r 1o r mercantile communities preceded the mearlien i - r an dayst Ye . other permanent reason for the multiplication of harbours was the generally poor condition of the roads, which naturally told in favour of the transport of goods by sea. As recently as 1837, for Royae th lis 1f A o tl Burgh aree th gives ai n s i Appendi n ni . xB 200 GRAHAM: ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES ON SOME HARBOURS IN EASTERN SCOTLAND 201 harboursf o p Ma FIG. .1 . example, the 'pows' in the Carse of Gowrie were said to form 'the small harbours by which the commerce of the district is carried on'.1 The small size and comparative cheapness of ships, and the relative simplicity of their repair, must have simplified the business of sea-faring, while the fact that navigatio taughs nwa Torryburn i t n village schoo 1793n i l illustrate importance th s f eo seamanshi typicaa o pt l community addition I . suco nt h general 2causes neee th f expor, do t facilitie r coalfo s , salt, limestone, preserved fis r surpluo h s agricultural producee calleth r dfo building of harbours at the places individually concerned; and ferries, with regular terminals, naturally were required on the Firths of Forth and Tay. It is interesting to recall that the bridging of the Tay at Perth in 1771 noticeably diminished the volume of traffic on the ferry between Ferryport-on-Craig and Broughty.3 Dating earliese Th t harbour aree th a n si wer e presumably those whic Romane hth s must have formedperioe on r anothert do a , supporo t , t field-armie r garrisonso s t aparbu ; t from some 1 NSA, x, 371. 3 ibid., 457. The date is given as 1766, but see Anony- ' Stat. Acer., vm, 452. mous, Memorabilia of the City of Perth (1806), 17. 202 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1968-9 possible traces of a breakwater at Wardie,1 and a doubtful record of a 'mole' at Cramond, evidenc Romaf eo n harbour-work totalls i y lacking sizobviou e d vien th eI an . f wo s importance of the establishments at Inveresk it is clear that a harbour must have been associated with them; much the same could no doubt be said of Carpow, and Perth could have served usefully as a beach- head in Agricola's northern operations. However, any such ports naturally went out of use with Romae th f o nd occupationen e th consequentld an , y provid materiao en presene th r lfo t study. In the Dark Age, however, if the distinction between ports and harbours is temporarily dropped, something of the existing system begins to emerge. Two important strongholds, Din Eidyn and Giudi, were conveniently close, respectively, to the mouth of the Water of Leith and to riverside berths corresponding with Stirling harbour; Watson's Din Bar, if it occupied the suggestive hill- top site of Knockenhair, would have stood only half a mile from what was later the port of Belhaven; whil distance eth Clatchard'f eo 2 s Crai Lindoregf o for w t froPo se mwoulth d have been approximatel samee yth . Further Dar evidence kAg probably ema t S Life f seee th yo eb n ni Kentigern, which make saint'e sth s mother sail fro mputativa e Belhave land t nCulrossan da , the inference being that when this legend was first put on paper, in the eleventh or possibly as early as the ninth century, these places were already known as ports. Early Christian St Andrews, again, overlooked a natural harbour in the mouth of the Kinness Burn. When regular records begin, in the twelfth century, we hear of ten ports or landings, and to these four are added in the thirteenth and a further seven in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century no new 3 names appear befor eresule Middl e th 1491th thatt s f i t o bu ,e , d Agesbeforen t e leasa ,th e t twenty ports or regular landings have found their way into the records. Surprisingly, neither Allo Burntislanr ano mentionedds i theit ,bu r absence fro liste mth , like tha somf o t e less naturally attractive sites, may be due simply to the records' own defects. In the succeeding phases the list lengthens notably, with twenty-two fresh names appearing between 1491 and 1596 and a further twenty in the course of the seventeenth century. The real increase, however, may be less than it seems, in view of the improvement in the quality and volume of the records; but that the ports were being improved at this time is corroborated by other evidence sixteente r exampleth Fo .n i s i h t ,i centur y tha begie tw heao nt 'bulwarks'f ro , evidently breakwaters protecting or partially enclosing a beach or tidal anchorage; while the frequent references to 'decayit' harbours imply the existence of built structures constantly liable to damage. James IV's harbou t Newhavena r , Petwortshowe th y nb h House pla havo nt e consisteo tw f do piers projecting fro open ma n shore-line earln a s yi , sixteenth-century example charted an , r o r other reliable evidenc constructioew existne r sfo fifteet na n sites between 1526 (Morison's Haven) aboud an t 1650 (Methil), with less definite information abou moreo ttw , Elie (1582 Cockenzid )an e (1630). This appears, in fact, to be the stage in the ports' evolution in which they assume the qualit regulaf yo r harbours thid san , poin importans ti wore th f dti 'port' (portus),e uses th a n di earlier documents, is not to prove misleading. For example, Pittenweem was described as a 'portus maris' in 1228, but only obtained the right to build a harbour in 1541; consequently, at earlier dates ships and fishing-boats must have worked off a beach or in and out of inlets among rocks. Fishing was probably one of the principal reasons for these developments, and is likely to have underpinned most other maritime activities. Anothe rdoubo facton increasine s th t wa r g trade, includin overseae gth s Royatradee th f o ,l Burghs, theid an r influenc probabls ewa - yim portan eightees ta arethosf e no th a en weri e actual seaports, 4whil inlane eth d Burgh Edinburghf so , Haddington and Linlithgow possessed ports of their own (Leith, Aberlady, Blackness) and Cupar 1 References to sources are normally given in the • See bracketed figures, indicating centuries, against descriptive articles. name f portso Appendin si . xA On these two sites, see Watson, W. J., History of For a list see Appendix B. 2 the Celtic Place-names of Scotland, 135,141. 4 GRAHAM: ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES ON SOME HARBOURS IN EASTERN SCOTLAND | 203 rightd ha somf so Motrae sorth n to y Water.