From medieval remains to the roots of Leith Walk, much of old Edinburgh has been uncovered during tram works in recent years.
Some fascinating relics from the past have been dug up - giving a glimpse into the past, and a better insight into the city’s history.
Archeologist for the City of Edinburgh John Lawson told us about his experiences while digging through Edinburgh’s past.
He said: “There’s definitely much more to be found here, and even if you don’t find anything - that’s still important.
“It fills gaps, but we’re always finding that every excavation tells us something or adds more knowledge.”
When asked about the most shocking find, John told us: “The most surprising discovery was two whale bones from a sperm whale's right fin.
“We just don’t often get fragments of whale bones standing up in archeological excavations in Edinburgh.
“It’s not that they’re not there we just often don’t find them - and we dated them to the 17th or 18th century, so it was out of the norm.”
From whale bones, to ancient cannonballs, or the recent discovery of 16th century roads tucked away under our feet - we've taken a look at some of the other most intriguing finds so far from the team at GUARD.
The Graveyard
The medieval graveyard was first uncovered on Constitution Street in 2008 as part of the original tram project, with archeologists spending six months digging up around 400 human remains.
The placement of the bodies underneath the road showed that the graveyard could go back as far as 150 years more than the South Leith Parish Church.
Each body is excavated and given a full forensic report, and some will be dated to confirm the story behind them.
John told us it was a bit of a surprise when the number of remains were uncovered: “We knew the graveyard would have more bodies there.
“We found more than we expected, because we had better survival underneath the section that we’d dug in 2008.”
Also discovered during the process was a medieval wall, which is thought to show where the graveyard would have ended.
The Beach
A medieval sand dune was uncovered, and the team believed this to have been a beach around six or seven thousand years ago.
A few thousand years after the ice age, sea levels rose dramatically changing the world's sea lines.
Thought to date back to around 4000 BC, the sand dune held some pottery from the 14th century.
A shard from Dutch redware, thought to be from a cooking instrument, was found amongst the ancient sand.
Elsewhere, another Dutch item was found in the form of a coin dating back to 1628.
Town defences
North of the graveyard, the team of archeologists got to work looking for the town defences.
The GUARD team discovered what they thought to be the western edge of the defences, with fortification ditches that kept the area protected.
Running down the middle of Constitution Street, a series of test pits were made to find where the ditches may run.
John describes the ditches in the Trams to Newhaven Archaeology vlog series.
He tells us: “We found most of this ditch when we did the excavation in 2008, cutting through the cemetery.
“We’re not entirely sure which one it is, if it relates to the 1559 siege or there’s another one in the 1570s, or it could be a later ditch.”
Leith Walk
A mysterious stone structure was unearthed at the foot of Leith Walk.
The team discovered pottery and clay pipe thought to go back to the early 19th century, but may be from earlier.
After a period of mystery, archaeologists believed they had found the oldest part of Leith Walk.
The layers of road over the years were revealed building up from medieval roads, to the 19th century updates, before the modern roads lay on top.
The team estimated 500 years of road build up had been uncovered.
Cannonballs
Three cannonballs were discovered in Leith, thought to date back to the siege of Leith from the 16th century.
Two were found nearby the South Leith Parish Church, and the team believed the cannons to have been shot from the other side of the Leith Links.
From Phelam’s map of the area drawn at the time, the churches fortifications are clear - explaining why enemy forces would be looking to send cannons in that direction.
In the Trams to Newhaven Archeological vlogs, John tells us: "One of the surprises - and it's always good to have a surprise, is what I'm holding.
"The third cannonball we found in Leith, we found it right behind me during a small trench excavation and that's really exciting."
Tram Winding Wheels
19th century tram winding wheels were discovered in Pilrig, which were fully excavated and put into storage.
The wheels were so well preserved that they still spun when uncovered.
The discovery was thought to be part of the 1888 tram network, the second iteration of Edinburgh’s network.
Measuring around eight feet in diameter, the impressive wheels were accompanied with entrance to the operating room through a manhole that was uncovered nearby.
