An archaeological dig will get underway at the site of an old pond at Aberdeen's Duthie Park today [Monday 14 June 2010].
The dig and restoration of the pond are part of exciting plans to breathe new life into Aberdeen's historic Duthie Park by Aberdeen City Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), who are joint funders of a scheme to restore the 44-acre Victorian park to its former glory.
The circular pond, an original feature of the 1883 park layout, is situated in the lower car park area. The pond was infilled in the 1920s when the model yachting pond was extended and laid with turf. The stone steps leading down to the pond from the former terraced walkway were removed in the 1960s.
The first phase of the archaeological fieldwork will include the excavation of 2 trenches across the location of the original pond (to initially assess of the condition and survival of the structure and to identify building materials); and a third trial trench will be excavated across the location of the stone steps leading southwards from the terraced footpath (to assess the level of survival of the steps).
The specific objectives of the fieldwork are to:
- identify the presence/absence of the 1883 circular pond feature;
- identify the presence/absence of the 1883 stone steps;
- determine the condition of any surviving original building materials;
- identify where original building materials can be reused to form the new elements.
The dig will take a minimum of two days.The second phase will occur if substantial remains of the original pond structure are observed in the trial trenches.
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