IT is one of Scotland’s oldest schools and educated the elite of the North-east more than five centuries ago before it disappeared with fears that it was lost forever.
But now archaeologists are aiming to uncover a lost piece of Aberdeen’s architectural heritage after being given a lottery grant of £10,000 to begin a dig for evidence of a lost grammar school.
Researchers at Aberdeen University hope to uncover evidence of the grammar school for students wanting to enter King’s College, thought to have stood on a site close to the front of King’s College Chapel.
The main dig will coincide with the 2017 May Festival, organised by the university, and visitors will be able to get involved in excavation work alongside the professionals.
Dr Gordon Noble, a senior lecturer in archaeology who will lead the project, said the aim is to uncover evidence of the school which prepared students for enrolment at the university and is believed to have been completed in 1533.
He said: “We are specifically targeting a building that used to be attached to the front of King’s College that served as a grammar school in the 16th century.
“The school is shown on a 1661 map of Aberdeen but actually dates to at least 1533 when the statutes and laws of the school were written down by the University Grammarian Theophilius Stewart.
“It acted as a preparatory school for pupils who wished to study at the university and pupils underwent a gruelling timetable, with prayers, classes on the Latin authors and language lessons and discipline was strict with pupils referred to as qui sub nostra ferula – ‘those who soldier on under our cane’.
“The dig will aim to elucidate elements of the ground-plan of the building, assess its survival for future investigation and to recover elements of the material culture of early schooling.”
It is not known when use of the school ceased but it is thought to have stopped taking in pupils at some point after the Reformation and was out of use by the end of the 17th century.
Researchers will combine excavation work with an exploration of archive material in an attempt to build a more accurate history of the school and its role within King’s College.
The excavation work will have a community focus and will form one of the major events at the May Festival where tours of the University, archaeology workshops and other complimentary events will also take place.
Chris Croly, from the University’s Public Engagement With Research Team said: “We wanted a project in which school pupils, students and the public could explore the rich heritage of Old Aberdeen and the university while contributing to a real-life archaeological investigation.”
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