A Beautifully Detailed Record

Archaeologist Kenny Macfadyen from Addyman Archaeology has been taking advantage of the accessibility of every part of the castle to conduct a detailed survey of the whole structure.  Kenny, whose specialism is Scottish castles, told me that he could happily spend a whole year working his way round this structure, the oldest and possibly the most interesting he has ever seen.

At present, Kenny is making a series of intricate drawings of the walls.  Each section is carefully measured before being transferred to a large sheet of graph paper.  To be honest, what he produces is as much a work of art as a scientific record, but this detail enables him to pick out the complex history of the building.

An example of the sort of thing he is recording is this, the top of the original battlements - they were built on at a later date so are now much higher.  The originals were crenellated, and rose to just below the level of the scaffolding.  '1' is an embrasure, a point where the battlement was lower, enabling defenders to look out; '2' is the next embrasure, while the merlon, or raised section between them, is about 7 feet long.  A third embrasure is visible at left.

In due course, Kenny's drawings will form part of the detailed report that Addyman Archaeology will be presenting, one which, I sincerely hope, will be available to the general public.