A MAJOR boost to the study of medieval Scottish history was revealed yesterday when it was announced that a hoard of coins and other artefacts had been uncovered by archaeologists working on the presumed location of the “lost” village of Cadzow in Lanarkshire.

Remnants of the medieval village and a collection of medieval coins believed to date from the 10th or 11th century have been unearthed during work to upgrade the M74 near Hamilton, the town which was originally known as Cadzow. The discovery was made on the verge of the motorway near Junction 6 opposite Hamilton Services, where the carriageway is being widened as part of the central Scotland £500m motorway improvements project.

The archaeological team found nine medieval coins, fragments of animal bone, clay smoking-pipe fragments and more than 200 shards of glazed medieval pottery that could date to the 1400s or earlier.

Keith Brown, minister for infrastructure, investments and cities, visited the site and viewed the rare collection of coins and artefacts, which archaeologists believe to be more than 1,000 years old and could finally confirm the location of the lost village of Cadzow.

Brown said: “When complete, the upgrade of the M8, M73 and M74 motorways will greatly improve journey time reliability and provide opportunities for business, leisure and tourism industries throughout the central belt and beyond – not only that, these works are helping uncover Scotland’s ancient past. This dig has unearthed two medieval structures, nine medieval coins, gaming pieces, shards of pottery and a lead pistol shot, possibly from the Battle of Bothwell Bridge (1679) – collectively, they provide a rare insight into life in Scotland in the Middle Ages.

“The discoveries on the M74 near Hamilton, which could have remained uncovered had works not started, are truly remarkable and underline the importance of the value we place on meeting our environmental obligations as we plan and construct essential new infrastructure.”

A specialist team from Guard Archaeology is investigating the site to safeguard anything of historic interest. Warren Bailie, project manager for Guard Archaeology, who oversaw the excavation and recorded the finds, believes the discovery is extremely rare within such an industrial area.

Bailie said: “We’ve been on site for 18 months now and this is the most significant discovery to date. Medieval remains rarely survive in industrial centres such as Glasgow due to widespread industrialisation of the 19th century, including mining, road and housing construction. Very few medieval settlements have survived, so we’re delighted to recover and record such a rare and interesting piece of Scottish history.”

Two medieval structures lie adjacent to a memorial stone which rests against a tree on the motorway verge. The memorial stone, which marks the former position of the 1,000-year-old Christian shrine Netherton Cross, may provide a clue as to why the area has survived undisturbed until now.

Kevin Mooney, project director for the excavation, explained: “It is believed one of the structures was literally on the position of the Netherton Cross and there is a possibility that one or other of these buildings may have had some religious connection, although further analysis of the artefacts may shed some light on this. Despite the area being heavily mined in the early 1900s, it’s possible the area around the Netherton Cross was not disturbed for religious reasons.

“We are not sure of the age of these structures just yet, however, the Netherton Cross dates from the 10th or 11th Century, therefore it is possible that the surrounding buildings could date from the same period – so we could be looking at a site and artefacts that are 1,000 years old.”

Mooney added: “It is very unusual to find so many coins in one place. We think it’s possible that people thought it lucky to leave a coin at the religious shrine.“We’ve also discovered two gaming pieces, one carved of stone and the other a circle of green-glazed medieval pottery.”

Discovery could shine a light on chunk of our heritage that has been shrouded in mystery for centuries

IT is the curse of historical scholarship in Scotland that so little of what constituted our medieval history remains extant today. That is largely down to two people – King Edward I of England and John Knox.

Longshanks did his best to effectively destroy the Scottish kingdom in the 1290s and early 1300s, including destroying towns and castles and seizing and burning our national records – the Scottish clergy wrote to Pope Boniface VIII in 1301 protesting about that attempted genocide by vandalism.

In Knox’s case, he and his fellow reformers not only destroyed priceless paintings in churches and houses but also Catholic Church artefacts and records – and since it was monks who were largely the recorders of life in medieval times, it follows that their writings were lost, too.

No-one knows, for instance, what valuables and records were looted and destroyed when Perth Priory and Scone Abbey, the places nearest to the crowning place of Scottish kings, were ravaged by a mob from Dundee in 1559 – even Knox tried to stop that as he knew the historical importance of the abbey in particular.

So the discovery of medieval material in the lost village of Cadzow is very important for archaeologists and historians alike. We know that Cadzow was the name given to this medieval community on the edge of the River Clyde at this location until 1445, when King James II gave his permission for the area to be renamed and residents were forced to move a mile or so south to the town’s current location where it was renamed Hamilton.

The Netherton Cross mentioned in the main story was a major religious monument, erected in the 10th or 11th Century, to commemorate a miracle or wondrous happening – we don’t know what, but the influence of Celtic or Pictish tradition is obvious in its carvings. We do know it marked a place of pilgrimage, again until the Reformation in the mid-16th century.

In 1925, Hamilton town councillors decided to relocate the Cross to the grounds of Hamilton Parish Church to preserve it. It is still considered to be one of the most important Christian relics of the area.

Yet we know virtually nothing about it or the area in which it stands. Now this new find may change all that and tell us more about the Scotland that is lost in the mists of time.