Selkirk water works unearth medieval village remains Published duration 14 February 2013

image caption It is believed the site near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders was home to a medieval village

The remains of a medieval village in the Borders have been uncovered during the laying of a new water main.

Scottish Water was carrying out the works at Philiphaugh on the outskirts of Selkirk.

It was laying new pipes between Howden and Yarrowford water treatment works when the discovery was made.

Initial studies suggested it was an Anglo-Saxon settlement, but closer inspection indicated it may have been the site of a medieval village.

Archaeologists found evidence of a number of stone buildings with stone floors across the entire area, with cobbled sections in between.

It is over a sizeable area - which suggests there may have been a settlement on the site rather than an individual farm building.

Scottish Water spokesman Stewart Cooper said: "The Borders is of course a particularly historic part of Scotland.

"While projects of this kind by Scottish Water are all about improving Scotland's water infrastructure, they can often involve an element of digging and excavation - which can be fascinating when they help shed light on an area's past."

Scottish Borders Council's archaeologist Chris Bowles said it was an exciting discovery.

"We knew there had been something there, we just didn't know where it was," he said.

"Now we have the village, and it is quite an extensive village.

"We have got a really extensive area of maybe half a kilometre where we have had buildings right along the road running to the salmon viewing centre.

"It is not every day that medieval villages are found - most of them are known, this one was completely unknown."

Mr Bowles said the artefacts found on the site would now be taken away and examined more closely.