Ancient pottery may have belonged to Robert the Bruce

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Borestone find goes to experts for test to see if green pots were from Scots camp before battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Ancient pottery that may have been used by Robert the Bruce and his Scottish army before the battle victory of 1314 has been discovered by archaeologists. The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) commissioned a dig to investigate part of its site at Bannockburn landscaping works ahead of a ?5million revamp of the Heritage Centre to open in 2014, the 700th anniversary of the famous battle.

They discovered a small number of green-glazed pot sherds in an area near the Borestone, the site where Scots king Bruce set up his camp.

Dr Tony Pollard, Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, which carried out the work, said the pieces would be sent to experts to determine whether they date from the time of the battle.

He said: "Borestone could have been the site for the Scots camp prior to the famous Battle of Bannockburn.

"If a large number of Scottish spear-men and camp followers stayed on this spot in the first half of June 1314, it is possible that artefacts and rubbish pits may have been left behind.

"We found some sherds of pottery which may be medieval. They will go away for dating, but they may be an indication of Bruce's camp."

Dr Pollard said the site was not thought to have seen actual fighting in 1314. But he said there may still be important artefacts linked to the camp and later activity.

He said: "We would have been very surprised to find evidence of the battle itself, which is widely understood to have taken place elsewhere, nearby but this could have been the site of the camp."

The investigations located mainly 19th century field drains with clay drainage pipes and the bases of furrows perhaps belonging to the 16th to 18th centuries. Metal detectors were also used to help recover both copper alloy and iron artefacts.

The landscaping is part of a joint project between NTS and Historic Scotland, which aims to revamp the visitor centre, creating a state-of-the-art world-class visitor attraction at the site of the battle.

Derek Alexander, NTS's head of archaeology, said: "We have to be sure of the archaeology which is on-site, before any work begins on the ambitious plans to revamp the visitor centre.

"We felt it was vital to take this opportunity to explore the site further."

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