EXPLORE ABERDEEN

See progress at City dig on Doors Open Day

05/09/06

The Kirk of St Nicholas and its ongoing archaeological dig is among the 32 City venues which will welcome visitors on Doors Open Day this Saturday (September 9).

The church has participated in Doors Open Day before, but this year will be a very special and unique occasion, with the opportunity to watch the team of archaeologists as they uncover previously unknown aspects of Aberdeen’s past.

Visitors will be able to meet members of the team and see some of the numerous small objects which the dig has revealed.

Led by Aberdeen City Council's archaeology unit and hailed as the "most exciting archaeological excavation in Scotland in recent years", this is the largest dig in the country this year.

It is also the biggest ever within a Scottish medieval town church, and it continues to produce exciting discoveries.

Highlights for visitors this weekend will be the chance to see the full outline of the east end or chancel of St Nicholas as it was from the late 12th or early 13th-century, alongside the graves in the yard that surrounded it and a cobbled or metalled path used by medieval Aberdonians as they walked through the graveyard prior to the 15th-century.

Also visible will be the walls of an additional room built on to the north side of the chancel in the 13th-century.

This may have functioned as a sacristy, where sacred vessels such as chalices, vestments and other valuable items used in worship such as processional crosses were stored and prepared for use.

Around 550 complete burials have now been excavated at the site.

It is estimated that the final total may be close to 800, by the time the dig finishes in October.

The human remains range in date from the 18th-century to at least as early as the 11th-century.

Keeper of Archaeology Judith Stones said: "Expert analysis of the remains at Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division will provide us with an unparalleled resource of information about the health and welfare of people in medieval and later Scotland. Once the study is complete, the bones will be brought back to Aberdeen for reburial."

The dig has also produced well over a thousand small objects, including nearly 100 medieval and later coins.

A selection of these objects will be available for visitors to see and discuss with a member of the excavation team.

There will also be a new display in the regularly changing case in Collison’s Aisle, featuring the many ways in which animal bones were used in manufacture prior to the development of synthetic materials.
On show will be buttons, a bone die, a possible gaming piece, parts of needle cases and portions of two bone combs, one of which may have been intended for the removal of head lice from the scalp!

The Kirk of St Nicholas will be open to the public on Saturday, September 9 from 10am to 4pm.

There will be excavation tours at 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 2.30pm.

Teas and coffees will be provided by members of the congregation of Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting, who will also be on hand to answer any questions about the Mither Kirk Project.

This project – to create a new community facility – prompted the archaeological dig, as the foundations of the Mither Kirk needed to be strengthened. For more information, log on to www.kirk-of-st-nicholas.org.uk/project

Weekly tours continue at the site on Mondays and Fridays at 1.30pm (with the exception of September 22 and 25, which are local holidays).

You can also continue to read weekly progress reports from the archaeologists and see new photos of the excavation on Aberdeen City Council’s website, at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

DOORS OPEN DAY

  • A total of 32 venues will be opening their doors for this year’s event on Saturday, among them the recently-renovated Old Town House in Old Aberdeen and favourites including the Tivoli Theatre, Central Fire Station and Masonic Temple.
  • Others include first-timers Mercatgate in Castle Street – a former bank now converted for use by Aberdeen Sheriff Court – and Kippie Lodge on Deeside Road, as well as the FRS Marine Laboratory in Torry and Tullos Primary School.
  • A free open-top Doors Open Day bus will link several of the venues on a circular route leaving from Broad Street every hour between 10am and 3pm, stopping at or near the FRS Marine Laboratory, Tullos Primary School, the Tivoli, the Masonic Temple on Crown Street, Queen’s Cross Church, and Robert Gordon’s College.
  • Aberdeen first took part in the Doors Open Day initiative in 1994, since when the event has gone from strength to strength with visitor numbers growing every year.    
  • The event is organised by the Aberdeen Doors Open Day Committee comprising representatives from Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Civic Society, Aberdeen City Heritage Trust, and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland.
  • Full details of the programme for the day are available at http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/web/site/Events/eve_Doors_Open.asp