Statement of National Importance
The national importance of the monument is demonstrated in the following way(s) (see Designations Policy and Selection Guidance, Annex 1, para 17):
a. The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past, as the remains of a moated coal shaft dating from the 16th to 17th centuries. In particular, it contributes to our understanding of Scotland's early industrialisation, with coal mining becoming a significant industry and driver of further industrialisation.
b. The monument retains structural, architectural, decorative or other physical attributes which make a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past. In particular, the surviving basal courses of a drystone wall and flooded shaft. The surviving elements help us understand the technological developments of early coal mining in Scotland.
c. The monument is a rare example of a moated mine shaft dating from the 16th to 17th centuries.
d. The monument is a particularly good example of a moated mine shaft dating from the 16th to 17th centuries and is therefore an important representative of this monument type.
e. The monument has research potential which could significantly contribute to our understanding or appreciation of the past. In particular, the basal courses of the moat survive which help us to better understand its construction. There is the potential to further research the construction techniques of St Mungo's pit, how it may have influenced the Moat pit, and Scottish mining more widely.
f. The monument makes a significant contribution to today's landscape and our understanding of the historic landscape. The monument sits within a public playing field and can tell us of the contemporary understanding of local geology and exploitation of natural resources. The moat pit sits within a landscape with a long history of mineral exploitation and the rewards of that exploitation such as nearby Culross Palace.
g. The monument has significant associations with historical, traditional, social or artistic figures, events or movements. In particular Sir George Bruce of Carnock. The monument can help us to better understand the living and working conditions of colliers, coal-bearers and salters in post medieval Scotland.
Assessment of Cultural Significance
This statement of national importance has been informed by the following assessment of cultural significance:
Intrinsic characteristics (how the remains of a site or place contribute to our knowledge of the past)
The monument comprises the remains of 'St Mungo's Pit' - a moated coal shaft, dating from the late 16th to early 17th centuries. Moated mine entrances are stone towers designed to stand above the surface of the water at high tide. These structures were necessary to extract 'sea coal' from a previously inaccessible stretch of the Jenny Pate (Upper Hirst) coal seam which ran under the Firth of Forth. They also provided a vital source of ventilation. Construction on this example is thought to have begun prior to 1590.
It would have provided access to a tunnel or 'road' at depth of approximately 12m, which ran underground for approximately 130m before connecting with a landward shaft - the Nun's pit. From this head height tunnel multiple smaller passages are likely to have branched where miners worked to extract the coal.
St Mungo's pit is considered to be a predecessor to the 'Moat Pit' sunk in 1590. By 1608 St Mungo's pit is described as standing wasted. Further moat pits are also known at Valleyfield which was paired with the landward Patie's pit and Strandburn Pit linked to Garden (Gordon) Pit. The 'Moat Pit' is also known to have worked in tandem with 'an Egyptian Wheel' - a type of pump to drain the mines driven by horse and water power. It consisted of a chain of rotating buckets descending and returning with collected water. This was a major technological advancement which allowed mines to be continuously drained preventing flooding. The Egyptian Wheel is described by contemporary poet John Taylor and was located close to land on the foreshore and was also moated, though its exact location remains unproven for the time being. The Moat Pit was also described poet Ben Jonson.
The St Mungo's pit now survives as the base courses of what would likely have been a round sandstone tower, though the shaft entrance is now oval in plan. This may be the result of subsidence over time. Archaeological investigation of the 'Moat Pit' has identified that its construction was carefully considered to prevent water ingress and comprised three concentric dry stone walls separated by voids filled with puddled clay, timber lining. It is likely that other moats were constructed in a similar fashion and there is the potential for further evidence of St Mungo's pit to survive as buried archaeological features in the immediate area.
Contextual characteristics (how a site or place relates to its surroundings and/or to our existing knowledge of the past)
St Mungo's Pit was part of a significant mining enterprise operated by Sir George Bruce in the Culross area. This demonstrated a marked advancement of the Scottish coal mining industry in terms of design, technique, technology, scale and economic viability. Bruce is likely to have had knowledge of the technology through the influential treatise on mining 'De Re Metallica' (On the Nature of Metals) by Georgius Agricola (1556) and through his travels in Continental Europe.
During the medieval period much of Scotland's coal mining activity was carried out by monastic houses, particularly Newbattle, Dunfermline and Culross. This early mining had changed remarkably little since prehistory. Mineral outcrops were identified on the surface and quarried away. When the coal seam dipped underground it was followed using an angled tunnel or a vertical bell pit until problems of ventilation, flooding and collapse made the mine unworkable.
In 1575 George Bruce, recognized for his engineering knowledge, was granted a lease to restart coal mining in Culross by his cousin, the Commendator of Culross Abbey. Bruce would implement several strategies to restart these works including the construction of moated mine entrances in the intertidal zones which provided access and ventilation to the coal seems beneath the river forth, paired with an entrance shaft on land and a drainage shaft and draining machinery. Bruce's activities are believed to be the first known use of such moated entrances in Britain.
The mines exported larger 'Great Coal' to England, Germany, and the 'Low Countries'. The coal mining activity was also integral to the local economy as it provided the fuel in the form of smaller 'pan coal' for extracting salt from sea water as well as the working of iron. Iron work was also integral to the equipment used to produce salt.
This significant enterprise of integrated industries spurred the wider development of Culross and with the proceeds Sir George Bruce was able to construct the Culross Palace (scheduled monument SM5288) completed in 1611. St Mungo's pit is thought to be a precursor to the later and more well-known Moat Pit and us such can help us to better understand the development of mining technology and technique in Culross. Technology used at the Moat Pit, including horse powered drainage, would continue to be used in other pits in Culross after the flooding of 1625. Later evidence of salt production in Culross, dating to the early 19th century can be seen with Preston Island, Artificial Island, Coal Mines, Saltpans and Housing (scheduled monument SM5079).
Associative characteristics (how a site or place relates to people, events, and/or historic and social movements)
St Mungo's pit was built for and designed by Sir George Bruce of Carnock (born c.1550, died 1625). Knighted in 1610, he was a merchant, engineer, from 1593 member of Scottish Parliament and Privy Councillor. Bruce advocated that Culross become a royal burgh which it successfully did in 1592. Bruce was held in high regard by King James VI of Scotland who in 1606 granted "our beloved George Bruce, joint tenant of Gellats, and any of his heirs and assignees, in heritage, whole and complete the lands and barony of Carnock.”
This same year would see the ratification of The Colliers and Salters Act. This act bound colliers, coal-bearers and salters to their current master, being unable to leave without express permission. Those who left could be punished as thieves, any new employers could be fined up to £100 (Scots) (approximately £1,075 today) and the homeless and itinerant, described as vagabonds and sturdy beggars, could be captured and put to work. This act would be used to increasing curtail the rights of such workers until they were freed by the Colliers (Scotland) Act 1799. At his death in 1625, Bruce was the master of forty-four salt pans, and an employer over 1000 people, including mine workers and salters. He would have benefited from the legislation which established a system of bonded servitude for such workers.