The remains of a stone-lined mine shaft lie in the middle of a circular breakwater in the River Forth on the foreshore off Culross. The shaft was sunk in the early 17th century for another access to the Upper Hirst coal seam. Originally it probably stood to a height of nearly 5m to keep the shaft entrance above high tide and would probably have allowed coal to be loaded directly on to ships. It was abandoned c1625 when severe flood damage closed it. Four masons’ marks belonging to 3 different masons were recorded on some of the blocks of stone of the shaft by the Fife Council Archaeology Unit. Other marks probably still survive. | | |