E59

Four separate excavations and several watching briefs were carried out by Aberdeen City Archaeological Unit between 1996 and 2002 on a large area to the north and east of St Clement's Church in Footdee which was being developed into small industrial units. The excavation revealed that the area had been sand dunes during the medieval period and that, during the 13th or 14th century, agriculture had been attempted. Ploughing had taken place, but the area had been quickly covered by sand and the attempts at agriculture failed. No evidence of the buildings of medieval Footdee were uncovered, probably because the area around St Clement's Church had been badly disturbed in the post-medieval and early modern periods. Medieval pottery was recovered from a layer of garden soil in the monitoring in 2002. The finds from this site are in the collections of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums.