When workers began excavations for an extension to Leith Hospital in April 1901, the last thing they were expecting was to discover fist-sized lumps of quartz laced with gold.
Located on Giles Street, just a stone’s throw from the South Leith Poorhouse, sizable chunks of the precious metal kept turning up, sparking a media frenzy and a mini gold rush in the district.
The workers had been digging to a depth of around 10 feet when, cutting through a layer of sand, they struck what at first glance appeared to be a seam of quartz.
