Proc SocAntiq Scot, 125 (1995), 1045-1068, fiche 3: G9-14 Abbey, marke cemeteryd an t : topographical noten so Coupar Angus in Perthshire, with a description of archaeological excavations on glebe land by the parish church Jerry O'Sullivan* with contributions by Tanya O'Sullivan & Stephen Carter ABSTRACT generalA reviewtopographythe of archaeologyand Couparof Angus Perthshirein attemptsto draw together several strands of information. chiefThe focus siteinterestof the former ofin the is Cistercian Abbey. possibilityThe settlementof earlierin periods considered.is historyThe the of Abbey brieflyis outlined. evolutionAn modern ofthe town proposed,is centred marketa on place at the Abbey gates. The final section describes identification of an early cemetery by recent archaeological excavation on glebe land by the present parish church. Excavation and publication were funded Historicby Scotland. INTRODUCTION The name Coupar is possibly derived from the Gaelic Cul-Bharr, or rear-of-the-ridge (Warden 1882, 129)e CisterciaTh . n Abbe f Coupao y r Angu sligha s site n swa do t prominenc aren a an i e which is generally low-lying and poorly drained. To the north, a long ridge rises from the modern tow overlooo nt Isle kth a river valley fro northers mit n subur t Beecba h Hill (illu. s1) Coupar Angu sfifte Abbeth h s Cisterciane housywa th f eo Scotlandn i s t enjoyeI . dlona g perio f growtdo h unti mid-14te lth h century thougd an , fortunes hit s were more mixed thereaftert i , remained, until the Reformation, one of the wealthiest of Scottish monastic houses. In 1606-7, the Abbey, wit s estatehit privilegesd an s s establishewa , a tempora s da l lordshi r Jamefo p s Elphinstone, Lord Coupar. The modern town evolved in the Abbey's environs and appears to be centred on the site of the market cross which stood before the monastery's main gate. The town has grown, however, while the Abbey has long since disappeared. In the post-Reformation years the material dissolutio Abbee th f no y appear havo t s e been gradual relentlesst bu , almosd an , t nothing remained of the church and conventual buildings by the late 18th century. Today ther littls ei e evidenc formee th f eo r monumental groune characteth sitee d th d an ,f o r is occupied by a modern cemetery and Victorian parish church. These probably occupy the site of ' c/o AOC (Scotland) Ltd, The Schoolhouse, 4 Lochend Road, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 8BR 1046 SOCIET ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1995 0 0__________ikm 100m ILLU S1 Locatio (Basednmap upon Ordnancethe CrownSurvey© map Copyright) the original church and cloister. Immediately to the north of the parish church, the Glebe Field was the subject of the recent archaeological assessment described below. In contrast to the paucity of architectural evidence, numerous documents relating to the Abbey survive. Charters, rental leased san s giv often ea n detailed, though chronologically uneven account of the foundation and fortunes of the convent over four centuries. The documents assembled by Easson in his Charters of the Abbey of Coupar Angus are described by that editor as 'an assemblage of Cistercian writ . secon.. s dvolumee onlth o yt s containin Melrose gth e charters' (Charters. v) , 1 A wor f equako l breadt Rogers's hi s Register of Coupar Angus Abbey, containin breviarga e th f yo Abbey register, record f leaseso f land o schurched an s s from 144 charteru o 15383t fe f o , s from O'SULLIVAN: TOPOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON COUPAR ANGUS | 1047 1538 to 1559 and rentals for the years 1542 and 1561-2. Rogers was justified in heralding the publicatio f thesno e document remarkabla s sa e 'illustratio conditioe th f no f Scottisno h husbandry rurald an centure th lif n ei y precedin Reformatione gth ' (Register , xxvi)1 factn I . , these documents principae th e ar l sourc Franklin'r efo s classic stud f monastiyo c estate managemen HistoryA n i t f o Scottish Farming (1952). Both Rogers's (1880 Franklin'd an ) s (1952) account recommendee ar s d for description l aspect Abbey'e al f th so f so s estate management: anima pland an l t husbandrye th , exclusion of pests, strategies for the enclosure, fertilizing and drainage of fields, the exploitation of peat mosses, the carriage of goods, conditions of feu-tenure and even details of the stock, food, furnishings and appurtenances of the monastic household itself. Easson's 'Introduction' (1947) offer analytican a s l historAbbeye th f yo , whilst general histories have also been publishey db Warden (1881, 91-123), Cochrane (1964 Sievwrighd )an t (1983) amongst others. EARLY SETTLEMENT PREHISTORIC AND ROMAN REMAINS Little is known about the organization of the cultural landscape of Coupar Angus in any age or period preceding its monastic years. A kerbed cairn of Bronze Age date was excavated at Beech Hill, in the northern outskirts of the town, and, in remarking on other prehistoric burials in the area excavatoe th , r expressed regret thawhereaboute th t a 'Roma f o s n urn' found thereaboutn i s 18te th h century werunknoww eno n (Stevenson, this volume). designatioe Th n 'Roman urn probabls i ' y inspire traditioe th y db n that Coupar Angue th s si Romaa sit f eo n camp presene Th . t parish churc cemeterd han centralle yar y located withie nth remains of a large, rectilinear earthwork (illus 1). Opinion is divided, however, as to whether this feature delimited some part of the Cistercian precinct or is indeed a Roman camp which was exploited by the Abbey's founding convent. Maitland supplies the earliest detailed description of enclosuree th : 'The militar runniny ywa g through Coupar Moor, passenorthere th n do ne sidth f eo beautiful Roma ntowe southercame th f Coupanth f o o t p a d f Angusnen ro , about nine miles from Bertha. This camp whicn i , situates hwa Abbee dth f Couparyo remaine th , f whicso e stile b har o t l seen; this camp I say, , appear havo st e bee equilateran na l quadrangl yards0 40 f e,o fortified with two strong ramparts and large ditches, still to be seen on the eastern and southern side, and on part of the northern; but the western, by agriculture, is demolished' (Maitland 1757, 199). Crawford verified the accuracy of Maitland's measurements, though the intervening decades had levelled almost all but the eastern rampart, but was cautious in his interpretation of the enclosure and preferred to say that 'the existing state of the remains is such that no opinion can be formed about their age' (Crawford 1949, 82)Royae Th . l Commission comments thaf earthwore o th te b y kma either Cistercian or Roman construction, but observes that it compares well with Flavian-period marching camps elsewher Strathmorn ei e (RCAHMS 1994, 86). Mecha Burnetn& t (1974) 53 , excavated a portion of the southern ditch and suggested that the enclosure resembled a Roman camp of the Stracathro type. In favour of this interpretation, it should be pointed out that the half a carucate describe Williay db Lion'e mth s endowmen Abbee th sita r yf efo o t (Charterss i ) 3 , 1 approximately twice the area of land that is contained by an enclosure of 400 yards square; whether or not the earthwork is of Cistercian date, it cannot have enclosed the entire area of the primary precinct. e questioTh Romaa f no n presenc t Coupaea r directle Angub n ca sy addressed only yb further excavations withi enclosuree nth identifiablo N . e Roman features were recorde receny db t excavation towe th nn si (Ree Duffs& y 1994; O'Sullivan 1993 below)d an , . However absence th , e 1048 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1995 of excavated features of Roman date does not constitute strong negative evidence in this case. The interiors of Roman marching camps are notoriously unrewarding for field archaeology: pits and peg-holes often bein sole gth e dividend excavatiof so n (Keppie 1986, 27). PRE-MONASTIC MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENT Whether some form of settlement more immediately predated the monastery at Coupar Angus is also unclear. The Cistercian preference for Novalia, or unbroken ground, is enshrined in the statute ordere th f o .s Such sites would have afforde t onlno dy spiritual isolation more th t e bu , material benefi f freedoo t m from parish tithes which might otherwis incurrede eb . Easson assumes this general preference as a rule, and urges that, in reconstructing the landscape of 12th-century Coupar Angus, it is necessary to imagine wild and uncultivated country (Charters 1, xxiv). However, the historical evidence calls for a more guarded view, and the traditional view of the Cistercians as pioneers or reclaimers of wastes is now widely challenged. According to Alfonso (1991 loca8), , l studies reveal that Cistercian settlement Europsin e 'were almost entirely located in previously inhabited areas'. In England, Walter Map, in about 1190, complained that the Cistercians 'raze village churched leved an s an l. .. severythin g befor ploughsharee th e ' (Donkin 1988, 39); of all recorded Cistercian granges in England and Wales, only 40% were established on territories that were previously waste or marginal (ibid, 40). However, Cistercian colonization need t havno e involved total displacemen f existino t g populations s beeha nt i suggested an , d (Platt 1969, 134; Franklin 1952 that) previousln 51 , o , y settled land, reorganization rather than expulsion may have bee norme nth : 'Here they were abl carro et theit you r custo f acquirinmo righte th l sgal ove villagee rth land san d around them, then turning them into grange collectiny sb bondmee gth n and their families there and pulling down their original cottages' (Franklin 1952, 51-2).