Excavation work at a development site in Stirling was forced to stop recently following the discovery of human remains. Last week, it was revealed that at least one skeleton was uncovered at a site located opposite Stirling Railway Station during an archaeological excavation project. Further remains have been discovered by GUARD Archaeology Ltd. The organisation is currently carrying out the excavation work on behalf of Stirling Council, before a new affordable housing development, plus commercial and retail space, are constructed on the land later this year.

It is understood that the site was previously home to a Dominican friary which was established around 1233, but was later destroyed in 1559. According to the Council, the remains were discovered in what would have been the friary's graveyard.

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Violet Weir, Stirling Council's Housing Portfolio Holder, said: "The development of this key city centre site is clearly important, but it is also important that we preserve and protect the city's rich past in the way that is happening now in the excavation phase of the project.

"It is not often you get the chance to come almost literally face to face with the past in this way. While the remains must of course be treated with absolute respect this is a find that I hope will provide more insight into the history of the Stirling area."

Stirling Council Archaeologist, Murray Cook, added: "It's obviously impossible to say at the moment but the body is likely to date from the 1400s or early 1500s, prior to the Reformation.

"Because it is the graveyard rather than the friary itself the remains are probably those of an ordinary member of the Stirling public rather than the 'great and the good', who were more likely to have been buried within the friary walls.

"This is an exciting and totally fascinating find. For Stirling this is the first time a medieval cemetery has been subject to modern excavation on this scale and this is real living history being brought into the light. It's the reason people get into archaeology in the first place, and further down the line it would be great to share this story in more detail with the people of Stirling. After all this is their past."

(JP/IT)