The castle is a constant source of surprises – like the little button found during a bit of routine work for the palace project. I found it interesting because of all the huge media interest in the medieval knight whose skeleton was discovered in a lost royal chapel. Knights in armour are glamorous and fire the imagination.

But the story of the castle is about much more than nobles, kings, queens and commanders. They were the exception and the day-to-day reality of life here was about the mass of ordinary folk, from servants to soldiers, like the soldier who lost this button from his tunic. Military history is not my greatest strength in a pub quiz, but I understand it’s probably 19th-century and may linked to the Berwickshire Artillery who were based here in the 1850s – I’ll let you know when I find out more.

To forget such people is to ignore a huge chunk of our history – and would be as daft as judging the country today by the antics of TV celebrities. This man was from the ranks of those who toiled in castle garrisons across the centuries, stood guard on the walls on freezing winter evenings and – occasionally – fought and died in its defence. For the soldier who owned this button, and presumably had to replace it pretty quickly or risk a superior’s wrath, the danger was less from a siege and more from a disease-ridden or dangerous posting somewhere in the vast British Empire.

What’s good is that a little find like this makes us remember, just for a moment, a man whose name and joys and troubles are forever lost. But his life, and those of thousands of others across, are the essence of the castle’s past. Without them the knights and generals would have no one to polish their boots, feed their horses, cook their meals – or lead into battle.

Gillian MacDonald, Executive Manager

● By the way, check out our website at 3monthsforfree.co.uk for details of our new Family Challenge and you could win special day at a Historic Scotland castle.