THE intriguing result of archaeological digs near the Clackmannanshire Bridge will be unveiled at a lecture in Alloa this week.

Friends of Clackmannanshire Heritage will host a talk by Ellie Graham of SCAPE, entitled Uncovering the Hidden Heritage of Higgins Neuk.

The event will take place from 7.30pm at St Mungo’s RC Church Hall on Wednesday, February 13, with non-members welcome for a modest donation.

It will be the story of what was found as a team searched for the royal dockyards of James IV near the southern approach to the bridge.

The king began to build a royal navy to protect Scottish merchant shipping around 1500 and along two other locations, the Pool or Pow of Airth was chosen as a site for docks, just opposite Kincardine on Forth.

With cross-border tensions a war appeared inevitable and eventually, the king fell at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, becoming the last monarch not just from Scotland, but from all of Great Britain to be killed in the battlefield.

This brought shipping activity to an abrupt end, the dockyard becoming disused and the site lost.

Research identified the area known as Higgins Neuk as the most likely location for the royal dockyards and what the project discovered at a complex and multi-layered landscape will be the topic of the lecture.

Ellie Graham, presenting, studied Egyptology and Ancient History at the University of Wales, followed by a postgraduate in Practical Archaeology at the University of Birmingham.

Her research has taken her to sites in Wales and Scotland and she believes community engagement is key to addressing issues like vulnerable sites.

Currently, she is research assistant for the Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (SCAPE) Trust, based at the University of St Andrews.

The evening will be rounded off with refreshments and a raffle.