Perth, Horse Cross
Gaming Piece
Site Name Perth, Horse Cross
Classification Gaming Piece
Canmore ID 269280
Site Number NO12SW 1150
NGR NO 1189 2375
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/269280
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Perth
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NO12SW 1150 1189 2375
NO 1189 2375 In November 2002 preliminary borehole work in advance of the pre-development excavation of the Horse Cross-Castle Gable area of Perth recovered a piriform (pear-shaped) ivory object from a depth of 4-5m. The object is a gaming piece, possibly of Scandinavian origin: several similar pieces are known from Norway, Greenland and Ireland, and are generally dated to the 11th or 12th century. Usually such pieces are identified with the game Hnefatafl. Ht 31-4mm; basal diam. 31.5mm; basal hole diam. 4.5mm.
M Hall 2003
NO 118 237 (centre) Landscaping developments as part of the construction of Perth Concert Hall necessitated a watching brief on works between February and May 2005. The site lay in a medieval suburb of Perth, and had been previously excavated (DES 2003, 111). The results of these excavations included the discovery of a large ditch, probably associated with Perth Castle; burials associated with the chapel of St Laurence; a stone bridge; and evidence of tanning and other medieval and early modern industries. It was thought that some of these features might continue into the surrounding landscape area, and other associated features might be found. In the event, it proved possible to complete the landscaping with minimal disruption of underlying deposits, the only features of note being the remains of late 18th-or 19th-century tenement buildings demolished in the 1930s.
Archive to be deposited in NMRS.
Sponsor: R J McLeod.
C Fyles 2005