Lanark and District Archaeological Society's lecture program for 2001 - 2002 came to an end on Monday May 13th with a superb lecture by Dr Fiona Watson's lecture on Bannockburn. Unlike many lecturers Dr Watson did her lecture without slides but the audience were nevertheless enthralled by what she had to say . She spoke without hesitation for about an hour and a quarter to an audience of 26 members and friends.
Dr Watson revealed in the course of her lecture that the National Trust Site was not the site of the battlefield and that the real site of much of the actual fighting took place round the playing fields of Bannockburn High and the surrounding estate. The National Trust site was originally wooded and it was here that some of the Scots army assembled before the battle. Dr Watson also revealed that she did not agree with the interpretation of the archaeologists of the battle as she had been asked to comment on a new display that is in progress. Indeed her remarks confirm recent reports that Scotland's battlefields are poorly displayed compared with sites on the continent and in Europe.
Dr Watson was asked whether there was much point in looking for artifacts relating to the battle. She replied that there was little point in looking for anything beyond the pits dug by the Scots to delay the English cavalry as there had been considerable development in the battlefield area and there was little chance in finding anything as the Scots would have taken anything of value from the battlefield in 1314. She also mentioned that the story of caltrops being used in the battle was pure fiction.