Desk-Based Assessment and Walk-Over Survey Glen Convinth

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Desk-based Assessment and Walk-over survey

Glen Convinth Water Main Renewal

7 Duke Street Cromarty Ross-shire IV11 8YH Tel / Fax: 01381 600491 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hi-arch.co.uk VAT No. 838 7358 80 Registered in Scotland no. 262144 Registered Office: 10 Knockbreck Street, Tain, Ross-shire IV19 1BJ Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Desk-based Assessment and Walk-over survey

Glen Convinth Water Main Renewal

Report No. HAS080601 Project code GCV08 Client Halcrow Ltd

Highland Council Ref N/A

Date / Revision 17 June 2008

Authors Emma Malone and John Wood

Summary

A desk-based assessment followed by an archaeological walkover survey was conducted by Highland Archaeology Services on behalf of Scottish Water during May 2008 prior to the renewal of a water main within the Glen Convinth area of Inverness-shire. The evaluation found no known archaeological sites to be endangered by the work and found no further archaeological mitigation necessary.

2 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Contents

Introduction ...... 3 Aims and Objectives ...... 3 Location ...... 4 Desk-based Assessment ...... 4 Walk-Over Survey ...... 6 Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 8 Appendix: Photo Index ...... 10 List of Figures

Figure 1 Location ...... 4 Figure 2 Sites and Camera points (Auchvaich) ...... 8 Figure 3 Sites and Camera points (Dularich) ...... 9 Figure 4 Sites and Camera points (Ardendrain and Convinth) ...... 9

Plate 1 Convinth Old Parish Churchyard ...... 6 Plate 2 Building footings at Rhevackin ...... 7 Plate 3 Foxhole farmstead beneath gorse ...... 7

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Halcrow Ltd. for commissioning this report on behalf of Scottish Water. The field work was carried out by Brendan Malone. This report was authored by Emma Malone and edited by John Wood who oversaw the project.

Background mapping has been reproduced by permission of the Ordnance Survey under Licence 100043217.

Introduction

A walk-over survey was conducted in May 2008 to establish as far as possible the nature and extent of any archaeology likely to be affected by the construction of a new water main in Glen Convinth, Inverness-shire, Scotland. This report describes the work and its results.

Aims and Objectives

The overall aims of this assessment were to identify any recorded archaeological sites or features that might be affected by the water main renewal, and to, where necessary, propose mitigation or recording to ensure that archaeological evidence is not unnecessarily damaged or destroyed. The objective was to achieve these aims with minimal delay and costs to the development by anticipating any archaeological requirements, and dealing with any issues arising quickly and efficiently.

3 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Location

The proposed new water main route that was checked runs from NH508 377 to NH 546 415, falling from about 240m above sea level at Ardendrain north-east to about 205m at Easter Clunes.

Figure 1 Location

Desk-based Assessment

The desk-based assessment included researching the data available from previously recorded archaeological sites held by the Highland Council’s Archaeology Unit within the Planning and Development Service at Inverness, as well as online sources as required by the Council’s standard brief.

Site 1: Convinth Old Parish Church and burial ground NH 5120 3746: Listed Building C (No 8099) HSMR: NMRS: NH53NW 2 Significance: Regional Risk of damage by water main: low St Lawrence's Church is a ruin, probably of 16th or 17th century date, surrounded by its graveyard. There is no visible sign of a predecessor, but this is the site of the parish church of Convinth, recorded as a parish in 1221 (W Jolly 1882). It is traditionally said to have been founded by a companion of St Erchard -a 5th century disciple of St. Ternan. There are graves inside the walls. The parish was joined with Kiltarlity about 1500.

4 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

The churchyard is still in use. It is recorded as containing some early gravestones, including one bearing a horse and rider, as well as two cup-marked stones, but these could not be located. The water main does not directly affect the churchyard but runs close to it and a precautionary watching brief is recommended where the trench runs past the churchyard as there might be associated remains and the graveyard might have once been more extensive.

Site 2: Dularich Clearance cairns NH 5190 3820 HSMR: (not found) NMRS: NH53NW 10 Significance: local Risk of damage by water main: low

Three rough cairns, recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1964. They are probably the result of post-medieval field clearance. They are of no more than local interest and unlikely to be affected.

Site 4: Foxhole: Un-roofed building NH 5204 3860 HSMR: NH53NW00064 NMRS: NH53NW 62 Significance: local Risk of damage by water main: low

An un-roofed building is shown on the 1st edition OS 6 inch map. It is probably 18th or 19th c. in date.

Site 5 Rhevackin: Unroofed building NH 5280 3990 HSMR: NH53NW00040 NMRS: NH53NW 35 Significance: local Risk of damage by water main: low

A single unroofed building is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire 1875, sheet xviii), but it is not shown on the 1975 edition of the OS 1:10000 map. It is probably 18th or 19th c. in date.

Site 6 Ardendrain: Unroofed building

NH 5100 3766 HSMR: NH53NW00063 NMRS: Significance: local Risk of damage by water main: low

5 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Site 7 Ardendrain: Unroofed building

NH HSMR: (not found) NMRS Number: NH53NW 54 Significance: local Risk of damage by water main: low

Site 8 Foxhole: Farmstead

NH 520 386 HSMR: NH53NW0045 NMRS Number: NH53NW0040 Significance: local Risk of damage by water main: low

Walk-Over Survey

Plate 1 Convinth Old Parish Churchyard

6 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Plate 2 Building footings at Rhevackin

Plate 3 Foxhole farmstead beneath gorse

The walk over survey was carried out the 9th May 2008 by Brendan Malone. Conditions were favourable, dry and slightly overcast. The length of the proposed new pipe-line was walked and checked for unrecorded archaeology. Relevant archaeological sites identified by the desk-based assessment (see

7 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008 above) were also identified and photographed, with the exception of Dularich cairns, which could not be found, and Foxhole which was hidden within dense gorse bushes and completely inaccessible (Plate 4).

Conclusions and Recommendations

No sites are likely to be directly affected by the construction of the new water main, which largely runs along the road verge where disturbance of any archaeological features is likely to have occurred in the past. However since the line runs close to the old parish churchyard at Convinth a precautionary watching brief on the excavation of the pipe trench is recommended at this point.

Apart from this, there are no recommendations for further archaeological work in this case.

Figure 2 Sites and Camera points (Auchvaich)

8 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Figure 3 Sites and Camera points (Dularich)

Figure 4 Sites and Camera points (Ardendrain and Convinth)

9 Glen Convinth: Desk Based assessment and Walk-over Survey May 2008

Appendix: Photo Index

Photo Camera Direction Date Comments # Point 1 1 SE 09/05/2008 View from water station 2 2 E 09/05/2008 Looking along proposed line 3 2 E 09/05/2008 Looking along proposed line 4 3 E 09/05/2008 Across to fields where pipeline continues 5 4 N 09/05/2008 Outline of wall by Ardendrain 6 4 W 09/05/2008 Small mound/cairn by Ardendrain 7 5 NW 09/05/2008 Ardendrain 8 5 SW 09/05/2008 Ardendrain 9 3 E 09/05/2008 Across to fields where pipeline continues 10 6 E 09/05/2008 Looking along proposed line 11 7 SE 09/05/2008 Proposed Pipeline 12 8 W 09/05/2008 Existing pipeline N of proposed pipeline 13 9 E 09/05/2008 Across to fields where pipeline continues 14 10 W 09/05/2008 Back along proposed pipeline 15 10 E 09/05/2008 Looking along proposed pipeline 16 11 E 09/05/2008 Looking along proposed pipeline 17 11 W 09/05/2008 Back along proposed pipeline 18 12 NE 09/05/2008 Across field from river to road 19 13 SSW 09/05/2008 Glen Convinth Cemetery 20 14 SSE 09/05/2008 Distance from proposed line to Cemetery 21 14 W 09/05/2008 Back along proposed pipeline 22 15 W 09/05/2008 Across fields to proposed pipeline 23 16 E 09/05/2008 Rhevackin 24 17 NE 09/05/2008 Rhevackin 25 18 NE 09/05/2008 Rhevackin 26 19 NNE 09/05/2008 Rhevackin 27 20 NW 09/05/2008 Rhevackin 28 21 SW 09/05/2008 Dense gorse cover at Foxhole