Dig to fill gaps in city's industrial past

Published on Thursday 3 July 2008 01:55

FOR years it was home to a bustling garage. But now a gap site in the heart of Edinburgh is set to become one of the city's biggest archaeological digs.

Work is expected to get under way there within months on a huge excavation which archaeologists expect to shed new light on the capital's industrial heritage.

They aim to uncover remains of the original Lochrin Basin, which dates back to 1818, when work on the first canal between Edinburgh and Glasgow began.

Work on it was dogged by excessive drinking and violence among the workers, many of whom were brought in from Ireland or the Highlands. Troops even had to move in at one point to calm tensions.

Experts also hope to find elements of one of Scotland's forgotten whisky distilleries, which was run by the Haig dynasty, but closed in the 1850s.

The site at Tollcross is expected to be so significant that guided tours will be offered, while an exhibition will chart the history of the canal basin, which serial killers Burke and Hare helped construct.

The Union Canal was the last major canal built in Britain and it fell out of use within a few decades due to competition from railways. It was revived several years ago when the advent of the Falkirk Wheel reopened the link between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The archaeological dig is planned for the site of a 35 million housing development, which was previously home to an Arnold Clark garage.

The City of Edinburgh Council has ordered the dig to be carried out.

Ronin Toolis, of archaeologists AOC, said: "Despite the archaeological and historical significance of the Union Canal, very little is documented about Lochrin Basin. The archaeology is very important as it will provide the only real record of the use of the basin."

John Lawson, the city council's archaeologist, said: "It's a very important dig because of the insight it should give us into a crucial part of Edinburgh's industrial history."

Route to avoiding taxes at Leith Docks

WORK on the Union Canal began on 3 March, 1818, where the Odeon Cinema stands on Lothian Road.

The canal was built to transport goods to Edinburgh, while avoiding the taxes that were payable at Leith Docks. Coal, lime, chemicals and farm produce were ferried into the capital, as well as stone for the building of the New Town.

The opening of the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway in 1842 had an immediate and dramatic effect on the canal and by 1848 passenger services were virtually at an end.

The Union Canal was finally closed to navigation in 1965, but the link between Edinburgh and Glasgow was re-established in 2001.