Murder mystery at Old College

It has all the makings of the perfect scandal: sex, jealousy, fire and royalty all culminating in a cold-blooded murder. Walking into the grand forecourt of Old College recently, with the ongoing archaeological dig unearthing gruesome evidence of royal consort Lord Darnley’s murder there in 1567, it’s hard to avoid the sense that you’ve entered a part of history.

Old College, despite lying somewhat off the traditional tourist trail, remains one of Edinburgh’s more imposing landmarks. Take a stroll across South Bridge and up Nicolson Street, and its elegant dome dominates the skyline. Familiarity makes it difficult to imagine anything else standing in its place. Built in 1789, the building may be teeming with secrets, yet the mother of them all actually lies beneath its foundations.

The protagonists in this grisly drama are well known to many of us; Mary, Queen of Scots and her ill-fated second husband are memorable members of the historical cast we were taught at school. But while it is easy to recall these immortalised personalities as simply characters in some kind of academic theatre, to unearth a scene as fascinating - and as close to home - as this one serves as an apt reminder that we’re talking about not only real people, but real people who lived in the same city as us and wandered down many of the same paths.

It is not often that expensive public projects are praised; people are often quick to draw upon the negatives and worry about the cost. But this excavation, with no real goal except to satisfy historical curiosity, is a welcome exception. Taking place in such a prominent position, far from archaeology’s normal abstraction, students all over Edinburgh are talking about it. Heads turn and thoughts are provoked, and when the story is told we revel in the sticky details. And the fact that it happened right on our doorstep makes the whole saga that much more real, and that much more cool.