An excavation in Perth has uncovered an 18th-century culvert built with materials that archaeologists link to a medieval monastery demolished centuries ago.
The discovery comes from work connected to the Perth Charterhouse Project, which is investigating the remains of the Charterhouse, a monastery established in Perth by King James I of Scotland. At the center of the original complex sat a richly decorated church, but the site later disappeared beneath the King James VI Hospital and nearby housing.
During last month’s dig, archaeologists and volunteers found a culvert that once carried wastewater from King James VI Hospital, which was built in 1749-50 and later converted into flats in the 1970s. The drain sat beneath a grassy open space at the former hospital site.
Covering the top of the culvert were flat stones that the team says came from the monastery. Dr Gavin Lindsay said the slabs show clear chisel marks and smooth, carefully worked faces that do not match the level of finish expected for a utilitarian drain in the 1700s. The selection of salvaged material also includes stone floor slabs. Lindsay said a stonemason who visited the site pointed to the worn, smooth surfaces as evidence of heavy foot traffic over many years.
After the top slabs were lifted, the team documented handmade 18th-century bricks lining the culvert. Specialists will examine the recovered stone and pottery fragments to confirm their age and origin. Dr Lucy Dean, of the University of Highlands and Islands Centre for History, said volunteers also turned up 19th and 20th-century pottery and glass during sifting, along with pieces flagged for medieval review.
For crews working around older buildings and infrastructure, the Perth dig underscores a simple reality: high-quality stone masonry rarely disappears. It moves. Reused dressed stone can end up in drains, retaining walls, station work, and garden boundaries, keeping tooling marks and wear patterns that still tell a story.
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