Archaeology at Lindores Abbey
Safeguarding our heritage
Preservation for the future
Protected for another 500 years
Throughout the build of the distillery we had to do a great deal of archaeological work to ensure that we were not going disrupt anything under the soil. A very thorough dig took place before the distillery buildings were finished, and we were delighted that for the first time in over 500 years we had a far greater understanding of the layout of the Abbey as we uncovered several walls that no one knew existed.
The findings were meticulously recorded, and we filled in the trenches with sand to preserve the walls for a further 500 years.
The Oldest Whisky Still in the World?
A new discovery
Once we had finished the initial dig we still needed to create a SUDs pond, and very soon after we broke ground we discovered what on first sight looked like a well as it had water in it, but once it was cleaned out we could see it was a clay lined bowl 4 foot across and 3 ft deep.
The archaeologists present at the dig confirmed that the structure’s features are characteristic of traditional kiln stills of the medieval era, and that the residue found within is certainly in keeping with brewing and distilling practices of the time.
The stone structure has now been excavated and found to contain traces of charcoal, barley, oats, wheat and pottery that have been dated back to the medieval times, when the monks first began to distil their bols of malt, the product that we now know as Scotch whisky. The structure was unearthed next to the site of the original grain store, suggesting that grain was essential for its function.
Distilling at Lindores Abbey
Evidence of distilling and brewing
Douglas Speirs – Head Archaeologist for Fife Council, said that this added to the other archaeological features and environmental deposits uncovered at Lindores are commensurate with light industrial activity and indicate burning, heating, drains and water management.
Such remains are associated with a whole host of medieval activities and in the context of an outer monastic precinct (where the remains were found), they could indicate distilling, as well as a brewhouse, baking, smithing, washing or a whole host of cooking or processing activities. Without further exploration we cannot definitively say what was being distilled and why but the well-known 1494 reference certainly indicates that distilling was being practised at Lindores on a semi-industrial scale.
“To Brother John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt” (Rotuli scaccarii regum scotorum Vol X, p. 487)
8 Bolls amounts to almost 500kg of malt and would have been enough to make 350 litres or more of spirits.
Aqua Vitae
What Douglas Speirs found interesting about the 1494 reference to aqua vitae, is its historical context.
The date, the royal interest and the quantity of spirit involved all suggests that this liquor was being produced as part of the victualing of the royal army in the King’s campaign to bring the Western Isles under royal control. This is of interest as it suggests that the aqua vitae distilled (probably a brandy wine or a fruit flavoured spirit rather than bond-matured whisky – Lindores was famed for its orchards, particularly its pears and plums) was for drinking/celebrating/Dutch courage rather than for the more common medieval use, particularly at monasteries, which was as a health tonic for the sick.
So perhaps the real interest of the 1494 reference is that it tells us something about changes in society and culture and the growth of recreational spirit drinking in Scotland, rather than just telling us that late 15th century monks understood distilling technology, something we already know given that monks had been distilling on the Continent since the 11th century and probably in Britain since at least the 14th century.
Medieval Spirit Distillation
So do we have enough archaeological evidence for medieval spirit distillation at Lindores?
We certainly have historical records of it, but as things stand, we cannot yet marry up the archaeological and historical records to a degree that allows us to say, without question, that we have definitive evidence of distilling of aqua vitae; but we certainly have something that looks very like it. And that is why we want to continue to unearth the secrets of Lindores with further archaeological exploration!
