The Ancient Bridge of Stirling: Investigations 1988–2000

The Ancient Bridge of Stirling was destroyed in 1297 after the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Unlike the Old Bridge, which still stands, the remains of the Ancient Bridge are below water in the River Forth. This paper describes the investigations since 1988 of those remains. Two masonry piers reported in 1905, one under water in the tidal river and the other under a sandbank, were re-located and their positions surveyed. Two additional piers were located by probing under the sandbank. Divers made some under water investigations. The four piers lie in a straight line diagonally across the River Forth. It is argued that these represent some of the eight piers shown on the Old Common Seal of the Burgh of Stirling. Excavation on the S bank revealed masonry coated with mortar, which might be part of a bridge abutment, but nothing similar was found on the N bank, in spite of extensive excavation which produced interesting evidence of relatively modern flood defences. Efforts were made to obtain dating material from one of the piers, but success proved to be beyond present capabilities. The lessons learned should assist future work, and possible solutions of the difficulties are discussed.