ARCHAEOLOGISTS discovered the remains of a 'lost' 18th century walled garden buried in the grounds of Scotland's most spectacular stately homes.

Heritage experts from the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) spotted the architectural remains while workers were installing new drains underneath the Fountain Court in front of Ayrshire’s Culzean Castle.

It is thought that the rectangular enclosure was once an enclosed kitchen garden with fruit trees which appears on an old map of the castle drawn up in 1755, but was demolished more than 200 years ago.

NTS believe it was undertaken by Sir John Kennedy of Culzean, 2nd Baronet, in 1733 when he extended a walled garden at the foot of the terrace walls on the east side of the castle.

However, the kitchen garden was moved away from the house to open up wider views of the picturesque landscape, with a new walled garden built to the south-east in 1786.

It is likely that a lot of the stone used for this new garden, which is still in use today, would have been re-used from the original one.

In the middle of the 19th century the area below the terraces was used as a bowling green before the large, ornate fountain was installed in 1876. The area has since come to be known as Fountain Court.

Prior to the 16th century it is likely that this area was a narrow glen that formed a defensive barrier to the ridge upon which the medieval castle stood.

Derek Alexander, Head of Archaeological Services for the NTS said: “It is so exciting to see part of the original walled garden at Culzean.

“Although it was marked on the estate map, until now we never knew that any of it survived below the immaculate turf of the Fountain Court.

“This work has given us the perfect opportunity to explore a hidden aspect of Culzean’s past and, once the lawn is re-seeded, I can’t imagine the gardeners will want us digging more holes.”