ABOUT half way through the excavation in Selkirk’s Haining grounds of the ancient castle that stood on the ‘Peil Hill’, evidence is starting to emerge.

Conducted by Northlight Heritage, a non-profit, community orientated organization based in Glasgow, painstaking work is being done to find answers to Selkirk’s intriguing past. Abandoned in around 1330 and only disturbed by army building during WWII and estete landscaping, the castle has remained ‘unsullied and untarnished’ from then until now.

Under the guidance of Charlotte Francoz and Gavin Macgregor, assisted by Katy Firth, Steve Black and Ruth Whyte, the voluntary excavating team from Selkirk and almost everywhere in the Borders are earnestly scraping away at the muddy detritus of centuries and gradually trying to add facts to the rather foggy history of the castle.

A huge cry of triumph that could be heard in Kelso went up on Saturday when an ecologist and volunteer from Maxton, Richard Wales, uncovered a spindle whorl which is used to spin raw sheep’s wool into knitting wool. It was instantly recognised as ‘mediaeval’, or even earlier, and one’s imagination immediately runs to having discovered the work tool of the ‘the earliest weaver’ who pioneered Selkirk’s textile industry!

Other finds were two heel plates from a pair of army boots, a wartime brylcreem bottle which still had some in it showing that soldiers always like to look smart and a lot of broken glass from beer bottles (another army thing!).

More interesting archaeologically were several lumps of ferrous material which will need specialist analysis and many bits of old clay pipes. Just today a portion of a mediaeval was discovered.So there is more to discover from what has been unearthed so far and only three more days to make discoveries. It will be about Christmas before we have the final report.

Meantime, the work goes on and will finish this Wednesday. Visitors are welcome to come and look and Katy will tell them what is going on.

700 years of mystery are just about at an end and we hope to throw more light on the castle’s structure and whether anyone had occupied the hill before the castle was built! Wish us luck!