In a very interesting lecture Derek Alexander detailed his work as an archaeologist for the National Trust for Scotland. Derek explained that it was now over 70 year since the Trust purchased their first property, Crookston Castle. They now manage over 300 sites in Scotland which in addition to grand houses also include landscapes and small buildings. The archaeology on Trust properties ranges from neolithic burial mounds to the remains of crashed WWII aircraft. An example of an excavation performed by the Trust was work done to discover the site of the 18th Century flower beds in Greenbank House. However, much of the work undertaken relies on other techniques. Building archaeology is a significant activity and geophysics and survey work also play an important role in the archaeological work of the Trust.
Derek describe how a range of activities had been performed at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire. The well know Robert Adams House which dates to 1770 is built around a Mediaeval tower house. The house is built upon caves which were mentioned by Robert Burns and had been subject to significant occupation, possibly including smuggling. In the walled gardens archaeology had been employed to enable the reconstruction of the 1789 vinery. In the grounds a burial mound was excavated which unearthed a complete early Bronze Age vessel. Fieldwalking of a henge or enclosure which had been identified by crop marks discovered 3 complete Neolithic stone axes.