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Engineering geological and geophysical investigations of a slope failure at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

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Abstract

Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland’s most important heritage sites. It was built on a classic ‘crag and tail’ structure where the crag consists of columnar jointed basalt and the tail of sediments protected from glacial erosion by the ‘crag’.

In 1997 apparent instability was observed on the southern side of the ‘tail’. A shallow slope failure was proved to have taken place within saturated, layered, cohesive to non-cohesive, loose to dense heterogeneous fill on a slope of 44°. The date of the initial failure is not known, but is likely to have taken place over a period of many years, since at least the 1950s.

Remediation works were subsequently undertaken to stabilise the slope, consisting mainly of the installation of soil nails, a bi-axial geo-grid and minor filling to mitigate the effects of the ground movements and to facilitate repair of the retaining wall.

Résumé

Le château d’Edimbourg est l’un des plus importants sites historiques d’Ecosse. Il fut construit sur une structure glaciaire particulière, constituée d’un verrou glaciaire modelé dans des basaltes en colonnades et d’une accumulation aval de sédiments protégés de l’érosion glaciaire par le verrou.

En 1997 une instabilité fut observée sur le côté sud de l’accumulation de sédiments. Un glissement peu profond s’était réalisé sur une pente de 44°, dans un remblai hétérogène, constitué de matériaux stratifiés, avec ou sans cohésion, lâches ou denses, saturés. La date de la rupture initiale n’est pas connue, mais le processus de rupture s’est vraisemblablement développé pendant plusieurs années, depuis au moins les années 1950.

Des travaux de confortement furent entrepris en conséquence afin de stabiliser la pente. Ils ont comporté principalement un clouage des sols, l’installation d’une géogrille et quelques travaux de remblaiement afin d’atténuer les conséquences du mouvement de terrain et de faciliter la réparation du mur de soutènement.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is published with the permission of the Halcrow Group Limited and the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey (NERC) and with the agreement of Historic Scotland. We are grateful to The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for permission to reproduce Figs. 4 and 5, to Nigel Ruckley for his assistance with historical and geological matters, to CAN Limited for permission to reproduce Fig. 13 and to Lothian Webster of Historic Scotland for advice and comment at various stages of the work. The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the Halcrow Group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Halcrow Group Ltd , Deanway Technology Centre, Wilmslow Road, Handforth, Cheshire , SK9 3FB, UK

    L. J. Donnelly

  2. British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    M. G. Culshaw

  3. British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    P. R. N. Hobbs & P. D. Jackson

  4. Department of Aeronautical and Automative Engineering, University of Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK

    R. C. Flint

Authors
  1. L. J. Donnelly
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  2. M. G. Culshaw
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  3. P. R. N. Hobbs
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  4. R. C. Flint
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  5. P. D. Jackson
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Correspondence to L. J. Donnelly.

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Donnelly, L.J., Culshaw, M.G., Hobbs, P.R.N. et al. Engineering geological and geophysical investigations of a slope failure at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. Bull Eng Geol Environ 64, 119–137 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-004-0260-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-004-0260-7

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