7th century village is back on map

But the land near East Linton holds a secret beneath its soil.

It contains the answer to an early medieval mystery, only solved after the accidental discovery of a 200-year-old map.

It pointed to the field being the location of the long-lost settlement of Whittingehame, which dated from the seventh century, but was abandoned nearly 300 years ago.

Investigations quickly identified the site of old buildings, including the pub, blacksmiths and school, while a host of relics were brought to the surface by a farmer’s plough.

Archeologists today said they were "very excited" by the discovery because it was so rare for old villages which have been abandoned to be left undeveloped.

Historic Scotland archaeologist Chris Tabraham, who has been working on the site in his spare time, said local people had heard of the village before, but until now did not know where it was.

"There is a church which now stands called Whittingehame Kirk, and the map shows that the village was to the left of it.

"It is so exciting to find because it means there is a lost village underneath the soil just waiting for someone to excavate it.

"It is highly unusual because there are very few which have been completely abandoned that haven’t then been built on.

"This is an open field where we could access the secrets which lurk beneath."

Mr Tabraham, along with a group of 30 volunteers, has been conducting field walks - searching the top soil for artefacts brought to the surface by a farmer’s plough - at the site.

"We found a pile of clay pipes and bottle glass which date from the 17th century, which indicates where the pub was.

"We have also found slag made up of nails and horseshoes which means we can pinpoint where the smiddy was, and a child’s slate at the school site."

About 200 villagers lived at the site at any one time until the 18th century when agriculture "took a battering" and it was abandoned before falling into decline.

It is now hoped further archeological work will be carried out on the area to expose the foundations of the buildings where relics have been recovered.

A church covering an area roughly 100 metres by 50 metres has also been discovered nearby.

Aerial photographs show a dark oval area with a rectangle shape in the centre in the earth, which archeologists believe is a church dating back to the seventh century.

The Angles, who came from Germany and renamed Dineidyn Edinburgh when they captured it in 638, named Whittingehame, which was originally called Huita after a lord.

David Connolly, director of archeology company Addyman Associates, who lives in nearby Luggate, said it was an amazing find.

He said: "This is incredibly exciting because it is pretty unique. Hopefully, we can start opening up bits of the site to see how well preserved it is."

David Affleck, 63, from East Linton, said he was researching local man James Balfour - who died in the area in 1845 - at Register House in Edinburgh, when he came across the map showing the lost village.

"I was looking in the archives to find out about the Balfour family when I found it.

"I was so excited. It is really interesting to see how the village was laid out."

Councillor Ludovic Broun-Lindsay, whose East Linton and Gifford ward includes the field, said he was "very excited" about the find.

He said: "This is good news and is exciting for the area . . . hopefully now it can be excavated.

"I hope it proves to be a real asset to the area in the future as it might have the potential to be developed into an exhibition site for tourists."