David introduced the talk by explaining why Perth was a suitable location for a Historic Towns Trust mapping project. Thanks to archaeological excavations since the 1970s, a lot is known about the burgh, and the natural topography of the surrounding area means that mapping is a good way of articulating its history. Located towards the centre of Scotland on the River Tay, Perth is situated at the lowest crossing point of the river, where it is still navigable by boat from the North Sea. The burgh itself is bounded by the Tay, as well as the North and South Inches. The Tay is prone to flooding, particularly in late winter with snowmelt from surrounding hill systems and, as David pointed out, this likely explains the location of the original settlement.

Beginning his talk in 1027, 100 years before Perth became a royal burgh, David explained how the initial settlement was situated on a slightly raised area around the nucleus of St John’s Kirk and Watergate.  The settlement was surrounded by boggy ground on all sides, making it a naturally defendable site. A wooden bridge across the Tay connected the settlement to Kinnoull parish church on the other side of the river, and to routes to Dundee and Scone Abbey. In later years, defensive ditches would be built along the site of today’s Mill Street, Methven Street and Canal Street, enclosing this original medieval settlement and giving the burgh its very distinctive form, shape and character.

David went on to explain that the proneness of the area to flooding, and general wetness of the land, has resulted in archaeological remains surviving particularly well under the modern-day city centre. Buildings were often erected on top of the rubble of former structures, meaning the modern street level is now up to two metres higher in places than the level of the original settlement. The anaerobic conditions under these buildings have allowed organic materials to survive well, particularly in midden deposits. Daily debris from medieval Perth, including bone, leather, wood and textiles, have all been excavated in the city centre. David likened the archaeology of Perth to a cow pat with a crust on its surface – the modern masonry buildings are sitting on top of a more liquid level of wet anaerobic deposits.  Unfortunately, as David pointed out, the sulphuric smell of these deposits has also survived particularly well!

David used St John’s Kirk as an example of how the ground level has risen over the centuries. He showed a picture of the West Door of the church, which appears to be completely out of proportion (and, in fact, visitors today must walk down steps into the church, with the church floor about a metre below street level). The burial ground around the church was in use until the 1580s, and the sheer number of burials has caused the surrounding ground level to rise.

Turning his attention to historic maps of Perth, David began by looking at the 1774 map by A. Rutherford. At this time the town (today a city) hadn’t really extended much beyond its medieval limits. The map showed the burgage plots along the High Street and South Street. Work by R M Spearman has shown that the town likely developed from the waterfront westwards, and then southwards, eventually surrounding the St John’s Kirk enclosure. David then considered the slightly earlier Petit map of Perth from 1715, which is more of a sketch plan showing fortifications adding during the Jacobite Rising. The plan also shows the importance of the river as a trading route into the centre of the burgh, particularly for goods like coal.

Turning attention to archaeological excavations in the High Street, David highlighted the fact that the medieval and Early Modern buildings were often comprised of shops on the ground floor, with residential housing both on the floors above, and in the basement area. This system of mixed uses allowed the relatively small footprint of the royal burgh to cope with an increasing population, in a similar way to the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The upstairs of these buildings would have been divided into individually owned or rented flats (known as houses) with the entire building being known as a ‘land.’

David also considered the importance of Perth as a royal burial site. King James I (of Scotland) chose Perth as his burial place, as did his wife Joan Beaufort, and Margaret Tudor, older sister of English King Henry VIII. All three were buried in the church of the Carthusian monastery in Perth, however the exact site of the monastery is currently lost to history. The event concluded with a lively question and answer session.

The publications and research produced by David and his colleagues at Alder Archaeology and its predecessor The Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust were an important source for the information presented in the Perth Historic Map. To find out more about the Historic Towns Trust map of Perth, see their website: https://www.historictownstrust.uk/maps/an-historical-map-of-perth. Many of the archaeological artefacts found in excavations in Perth city centre can be found in the recently opened Perth Museum (see: https://perthmuseum.co.uk/).   

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