The AOC Archaeology Group has discovered a relic of wine history that was lost. They found it in an urban timber yard in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a big find from mid-18th century glass factory. This glass factory had cone furnaces once towered over the port district of Leith. It used to supply wine and whisky bottles to all corners of the British Empire.
Recently an estate developer was going to this 3-acre timber yard into an apartment complex. For the same it was required that archaeological department conducts a survey. The construction could not begin before the department gave a go ahead.
John Lawson, curator for the City of Edinburgh Council Archaeology Service, said that during the survey they found remains of the glassworks’ once-imposing brick cones. They also found some vinous artifacts and at least one dump of 19th-century wine bottles. This particular glass work factory used to supply wine and whiskey around whole of Britain. But they gradually burned out.
The major blow came for the factory when a group of 13 colonies broke away from the Britishers. The trade lost a lot especially during 1795 with the US except New York. The gas power rendered the furnaces obsolete. December 1874 saw the closure of Edinburgh and Leith Glassworks. The site was given on rent. All the machines and goods were put on auction. The last glass furnace closed in 1912.
From heavy equipment down to ‘bottle moulds of every variety from flasks to carboys‘ were put up for auction, informed Lawson. The goods discovered won’t be usable but the remains of Leith’s glass furnaces will be saved, even when the construction is permitted. The flats will be built around the remains and not over it as the remains are nationally important.
