Shot and weapons still waiting to be found

The site of the Battle of Pinkie remains relatively well preserved, but given it lies in the Edinburgh commuter belt it is likely to face further pressure for development, said archeologist Dr Tony Pollard. Key areas of the battlefield that remain could provide important historical research.

The A1 runs through the area and the battlefield has been encroached by the spread of Musselburgh, Wallyford, and Inveresk, with modern housing now built over the site of the Scottish camp.

But key areas of the battle remain open fields. Important views remain intact, showing where Scottish troops could have seen the power of the English fleet that bombarded them.

It is still possible to have a clear idea of the battle's terrain, while two tower houses survive: Falside, burned by the English after the battle, but rebuilt around its original tower, and Carberry Tower.

The Pinkie battle plans in Oxford University's Bodleian Library are some of the earliest on record.

The battle was the first in Britain where gunpowder weapons were decisive, devastating Scottish lines from land and sea. With the area of the main battle still undisturbed, the potential for finding surviving materials like shot, musketballs, medieval weaponry and the metal protective plates of Scottish foot-soldiers should be high.