Recent archaeological work carried out at Burns Cottage in Alloway revealed a buried and forgotten hoard of bone china objects, thought to date around the closing years of the World War I.

The objects were found during archaeological excavations, undertaken for the Trust by Addyman Archaeolgy, aimed at locating a series of field boundaries shown by earlier maps. The boundaries would have been contemporary with William Burns – father of the celebrated Ayrshire poet, who occupied the 18th-century building and farmed the surrounding land.

The National Trust for Scotland does not yet own or manage the Burns Cottage but is working on a project that will transform the cottage and the nearby visitor centre into a world class visitor attraction for 2009, the 'Year of Homecoming.'

As well as revealing evidence of these earlier land divisions, along with the surviving remnants of an even earlier medieval field system, the work uncovered an unexpected cache of Burns memorabilia, through to date between 1916 and 1920.

Forty-four complete bone china objects were found, plus numerous other fragments. The hoard is dominated by miniature dog kennels, but it also includes representations of binoculars, hand held lanterns, lifeboats, suitcases, and WWI tanks.

The objects would have been made to raise money for the war effort, and most are marked with the coat-of-arms of the Federated Burns clubs and the legend ‘Arms for Burns’. Some of the dog kennels are also marked with a reference to one of Scotland’s most celebrated regiments, The Black Watch.

Several glass picture frames were also recovered. Most were empty, but isolated examples contained souvenir postcards which depict either Burns Cottage, the Burns Monument or a portrait of Robert Burns himself.

Archaeologist Dr Louise Turner of Glasgow University commented: “I’ve worked on a wide variety of sites during my career and this has to be one of the strangest and most unusual collections of objects I’ve come across. What makes it all the more extraordinary is the fact that so many of the items survived intact.”

The finds may have been dumped in a rubbish pit behind the museum after the war was over as they could no longer be sold as souvenirs.