Posted on 07/20/2007 2:39:43 PM PDT by blam
'Lost' coronation abbey unearthed
Experts have found the abbey where Robert the Bruce was crowned
Archaeologists have unearthed the site where Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland. The location of the abbey at Moot Hill, the original home of the Stone of Destiny, was forgotten centuries ago.
But it has now been identified by experts from Glasgow University who have been surveying the grounds of Scone Palace for the first time.
They used scanners to detect buried structures and found part of the abbey church and a bell tower.
The coronation of Pictish and Scottish kings took place at Moot Hill for hundreds of years, and a royal abbey was built there by 1120AD.
Tremendous importance
The archaeologists have been examining the site using a sophisticated technique based on geophysical remote sensing.
Project leader Oliver O'Grady said: "We have been really surprised by the high quality of the survey results so far, revealing a very clear outline of the great west end of the abbey church, complete with at least one bell tower.
"The tremendous importance of Scone - where kings were made and where Parliaments met - is only matched by how little we know about the reality of the place.
"Now we can locate the essential outline of the church and hints of where the cloister and other buildings stood, and all without putting a spade in the ground."
Suzanne Urquhart from Mansfield Estates, which runs Scone Palace, added: "To see the plan of what was a beautiful Gothic church emerge from the ground after being lost for 400 years is very exciting.
"Some major gaps are being filled in our understanding of Scone's amazing history, and we are now talking to the archaeologists about how the project might develop."
The survey has also uncovered evidence of a massive ditch around Moot Hill as well as information about its construction.
I have wondered the same thing.
Your name would indicate that you may know more about it than you're letting on... :)
There are different kinds of remote sensing and applications of them. We’ve used geophysical remote sensing to find geological structures containing oil and gas deposits for decades. Other types of remote sensing include dipolar resistivity and proton magnetometer. The ideal situation exists when we can detect and identify buried remains without disturbing them. Scientific advances are occurring very rapidly, and disturbances related to digging destroy irreplaceable data which could possibly be saved as technology improves.
Regarding why always buried in lots of dirt:
“To: Dustbunny
I have wondered the same thing.
Your name would indicate that you may know more about it than you’re letting on... :)”
That’s funny and subtle, heh, heh.
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Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. |
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