A Pictorial Diary of Archaeological Work at Seton

The SAS Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/172173543366526/

The centerpiece of the Seton Family was the Palace of Seton, standing on the same spot on the Seton baronial lands for upwards of eight hundred years, where the original castle was a square tower built during the time of Seier de Seton sometime after 1066.  It was continually attacked, besieged, and rebuilt over the centuries and expanded by the successive heads of the family, becoming a castle-complex after the time of William Seton 1st Lord Seton, c1348.

However it was George, 6th Lord Seton under James V who was responsible for the splendid re-creation of the Seton House and enlarged it to become a more commodious residence to serve the Royal Court with a military character, Italian and French styling and multiple courtyards.   George 7th Lord Seton continued the work of his father and "repaired the forepart of the house of Seton, and especially that room called Samson's Hall (40 feet in height), which he adorned with a roof of curious structure, whereupon are twenty-eight large achievements, being those of Scotland, France, Lorraine, and the noble families that were allied to his family, curiously embossed and illuminate — the most exact pieces of armories that are to be met with..."

The magnificent Palatial gallo-scottish residence was continued by the 1st, 3rd and 4th Earls of Winton's until it was attacked, burned and looted in 1715 and later demolished by Lt Col Alexander Mackenzie in 1789-1790, having Robert Adam re-using it's stone and fragments of the various building-structures for the new "castle" seen today.

The Seton Archaeology Society 'SAS', a local history group founded in 2017.

Located in East Lothian, Scotland, they began the task of uncovering the foundations of the old Palace and recovering and documenting any and all artifacts buried underneath the grounds.

The key contacts for the small team being Gordon Neil and Billy Campbell, along with Frank Chambers and Nige Grant, admin Christine Beamount, and handfuls of volunteers etc... and we were initially contacted by Billy Campbell in November 2017 about interest in their work at Seton Palace and excavating parts of the grounds looking to uncover the foundation remains of the old Palace. Obviously the answer was, "YES!!!" While many of the activities were being relayed in photo-journalist style and communications on Facebook, due to the requested confidential nature of the process and at Billy's request of the time we were not at liberty to reveal any the work or disclose any of the details. As time and the work progressed, more excavations uncovered essential details of the old Palace foundations.

Eventually word got out, and the SAS team's efforts lead to seminars locally, a Facebook page, youTube videos, etc... and the work is ongoing... Current activities include: excavating, metal detecting, field walking, researching. "We discover, document, conserve and respect our local history..."

We are encouraging ALL Seton family members to join in and celebrate what is the most significant work at Seton, since the demolition of the Palace. Links have been provided above and below for the Seton Archaeological Society 'SAS' Facebook page for Seton family members to join and support, along with various other references.

The SAS youTube video log for the Seton Dungeon Excavations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Zuju66HmA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1bquKQlG3rNmxI-2Ujm-88g5wNhLdIOExqiAvvHuBjtNsmwVr7KkK-ufM

An excellent youTube Video Tour of the Seton Castle and Grounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J80fJ-A-a38

The Seton Castle Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SetonCastle/