The site of Dunfermline Abbey as it is today consists of two distinct buildings.

In the West is what is known as "The Old Church" or "The Nave". This is what remains of a 12th century abbey which was created by David I on the site of a previous church as a tribute to his dead mother, who achieved sainthood later in the 1200's. At the time it was intended to be the most important Abbey in Scotland.

In the East is the new Abbey Church completed around 1821. This present church was built over the remains of several rebuilds that had taken place over the centuries, to allow worship to continue at this important historical site.

During this later rebuild the bones of King Robert The Bruce were discovered and reinterred in the centre of the new Abbey Church, 560 years after his death. His heart had been buried separately in Melrose Abbey after having been taken on an unsuccessful crusade to The Holy Lands.