Robert Bruce - Discovery of The Bruce's Tomb

Discovery of The Bruce's Tomb

On 17 February 1818, workmen breaking ground on the new parish church to be built on the site of the eastern choir of Dunfermline Abbey uncovered a vault before the site of the former abbey high altar. The vault was covered by two large, flat stones – one forming a headstone, and a larger stone six feet (182 cm) in length, with six iron rings or handles set in it. When these stones were removed, the vault was found to be seven feet (214 cm) in length, 56 cm wide and 45 cm deep. Within the vault, inside the remnants of a decayed oak coffin, there was a body entirely enclosed in lead, with a decayed shroud of cloth of gold over it. Over the head of the body the lead was formed into the shape of a crown. Fragments of marble and alabaster had been found in the debris around the site of vault several years earlier, which were linked to Robert the Bruce’s recorded purchase of a marble and alabaster tomb made in Paris. The Barons of Exchequer ordered that the vault was to be secured from all further inspection with new stones and iron bars and guarded by the town constables, and that once the walls of the new church were built up around the site, an investigation of the vault and the remains could take place. Accordingly, on 5 November 1819, the investigation took place. The cloth of gold shroud and the lead covering were found to be in a rapid state of decay since the vault had first been opened 21 months earlier. The body was raised up and placed on a wooden coffin board on the edge of the vault. It was found to be covered in two thin layers of lead, each around 5 mm thick. The lead was removed and the skeleton was inspected by James Gregory and Alexander Monro, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. The sternum was found to have been sawn open from top to bottom, permitting removal of the king’s heart after death. A plaster cast was taken of the detached skull by artist William Scoular. The bones were measured and drawn, and the king’s skeleton was measured to be 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm). It has been estimated that Bruce may have stood at around 6 feet 1 inch (186 cm) tall as a young man, which by medieval standards was impressive. At this height he would have stood almost as tall as Edward I ( 6 feet 2 inches; 188 cm).

The skeleton, lying on the wooden coffin board, was then placed upon the top of a lead coffin and the large crowd of curious people who had assembled outside the church were allowed to file past the vault to view the king’s remains. It was at this point in the proceedings that some small relics – teeth and finger bones – were allegedly removed from the skeleton. The published accounts of eye-witnesses such as Henry Jardine and James Gregory confirm the removal of small objects at this time. Robert the Bruce’s remains were ceremonially re-interred in the vault in Dunfermline Abbey on 5 November 1819. They were placed in a new lead coffin, into which was poured 1,500 lbs of molten pitch to preserve the remains, before the coffin was sealed.

Professor Sue Black and her team of forensic anthropologists from Dundee recreated his face from the cast made of his skull.