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Title: PERTH EXCAVATION

Reference number: 6851

Date: 1976*

Sound: silent

Original format: 16mm

Colour: col

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 30.03 mins

Description: A detailed record of the archaeological excavation of Perth High Street, the first urban excavation in Scotland. On site footage records the actual excavation work as it was carried out. We see conservation work being carried out on such items as leather and fabric, and find out how people recorded the finds by way of drawings and plans.

The film apparently shows the St. Ann's Lane excavation on the site of what became the General Accident offices in South Street. This was the first urban excavation in Scotland and was directed by Liz Thoms, now President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. [information supplied by David Bowler, Director SUAT, 2003]

See also ref. 6852

[Please note the viewing copy may display some visible defects such as flicker.]

Shotlist: [shotlisted with aid of detailed notes compiled by dig personnel]

reconstruction drawings featuring, in sequence: mediaeval Perth; backlands of mediaeval rigs between High Street and Town Hall; buildings on street frontage and in backlands on Perth High Street Excavation (PHSE) site (0.42) plan of mediaeval Perth with site of PHSE excavations; ground plan of standing structures (1.14) plan drawing showing elevations of standing structures (1.28) c/u William Davidson's drawing of the 'Parliament House' (1.37) isometric view of Masonic Lodge, followed by plan of cellars, Masonic Lodge, and photograph of same cellars (2.13) [1976, Spring / Summer] photograph of Areas 3 and 4 (2.26) photograph of path and buildings in Area 4 (2.31) Area 2: from left Serge Antoniewicz, Roderick White, Shirley Ogilvie/y and Alan Swan trowelling, with Building 5 in background (2.39) Area 4: building 11 and stone hearth (2.39) [Late 1977, Autumn] pan of Area 9, from left Richard Baillie, Dick Potts, David Perry, Jim Falconer, Building 19 with two rooms and double wattle fence boundary (3.06) zoom in to detail of wattle wall (3.15) windows covered in wire mesh in High Street, where public peer through, followed by panning shot of excavation site , showing site offices, tea hut, Areas 7, 9 and 10 (3.51) shot of Richard Baillie at work scraping back soil (3.57) detail of double wattle boundary fence with gully in between (4.09) David Perry and Jim Falconer discussing Buildings 19 and ? in Area 9 (4.21) detail of walls (4.40) detail of burnt posts of Building 19 and wattle walls of Building ? in Area 9 (4.46) entrance and wall of N room of Building 19 in area 9 and Jim Falconer (5.08) details from dig at Building 19, Area 9, showing floor and occupation levels, internal partition between north and south rooms, lower floor levels (unexcavated); Area 10, east section with floor levels and mediaeval stone building foundations, progressively north to south (6.32) Nick Golby in site drawing office, another man drawing structural timber, Nick Golby drawing wood (7.35) double wattle boundary fence, Area 9 (West Side) Richard Baillie wetting wood for preservation, David Perry in background; Area 7, David Dalton trowelling, person planning, Alan Shedlock (site photographer) in background (8.02) Linda Blanchard excavating and holding leather scabbard / belt (8.56) Area 7, sillbeam of Building 18 and wattle wall continuation in foreground with external path, south end, grooved post at section with Area 9, person recording (9.58) George excavating pit in Area 10 with detail of buckle (10.21) excavating sillbeam in Area 7, from left, Richard Baillie, Jonathon Wordsworth, Linda Blanchard (11.04) David Dalton wetting sillbeam sections (11.16) view to SE, packing sillbeam, David Perry lifting plastic, Nick Golby in red jacket checking a plan, Dick Potts to left, Jonathon Wordsworth walking into view from left (11.42) pit with timbers in Area 10 (12.01) gvs well, wattle cut by well, George trowelling (12.39) Linda Blanchard ? excavating wattle fence , pit with timbers (13.00) general view working in Area 7 from left, Bernard Bell drawing, David Dalton holding level staff, Colin McRobbie (13.08) Jonathon Wordsworth using dumpy level, followed by gvs working in Area 7 (13.34) [South Street Office] Allan Shedlock in office, drawing onto site photograph (13.58) sackfuls of bones and trays of other finds (14.14) Mrs Coventry recording finds, details of decorated pottery etc (15.15) John Locke washing finds, including washing of leather (16.22) tracing washed and unconserved leather (for comparison with leather after conservation) (17.09) book of leather drawings (17.30) Richard Welander conserving a leather sole (18.09) leather strap / wrist guard / sleeve (18.39) cleaning iron padlock (19.16) Helen Bennett ? recording textile (19.34) and comparing PHSE lace with photos of other lace (19.57) c/u conserved textile (20.19) pottery display for analysis including horse head spout (21.24) Marjory Kenworthy ? examining pottery fabrics (21.48) George Haggerty weighing pottery (22.08) examination of conserved wood (22.51) Alice Curteis ? drawing wooden bucket stave, measuring wooden object (23.26) conserved wooden bucket staves, hazelnut shells (23.36) plant remains - heather or bracken? (23.45) mussel and oyster shells, animal bone (24.12) display case (24.34) fragments of a bone casket mount (24.57) antler or bone combs, bone object (25.55) new Marks and Spencer building exts from Mill Street (26.29) -blank- (26.36) drawing of east section, main trench (1976) with standing structures (27.00) David Harrison working on PHSE plan, pointing out location of wattle hurdle in gravel path, details of various buildings, and ending with building 1 phase 2 (30.03)