Land NW of Fortanach House, Shandwick,

08/00192/OUTSU

Archaeological Trial Trenching

Catherine Dagg

for

Nina J Westwater Fortanach House Old Shandwick Ross-shire IV20 1XQ

Land NW of Fortanach House, Shandwick, Easter Ross Erection of new house, formation of new access and installation of services 08/00192/OUTSU

Archaeological Trial Trenching

Site summary Rural site NH 8558 7465 Site location (NGR)

Total area of construction Approx. 1325 sqm.

Work required Archaeological trial trenching

Area of monitoring required 25% of development area

1.0 Executive Summary

Trial trenching at the site of a new house adjacent to the location of a cist burial unearthed during ditching in 1945 resulted in no further cist burials being uncovered. Possible plough marks were the only archaeological features identified.

2.0 Background

The development consists of: erection of one new-build house with all associated works between Shandwick and Old Shandwick in Easter Ross.

The archaeological evaluation covered by this report was carried out in accordance with a brief for archaeological work prepared by the Archaeology Unit of the Department of Planning and Development at Council, as a condition of the granting of planning consent for the present development.

The location of the development is considered to be archaeologically sensitive: it is adjacent to the nationally important Pictish cross slab of Clach a’ Charridh and an old burial ground, now ploughed out, whose precise boundaries are unknown.

The archaeological work is considered necessary as there is a significant risk that buried archaeological or historical remains could be affected. Although the full nature and extent of these features is not known, they are expected to be of historic interest and of value to future research, and as such they should not be destroyed without being recorded:

2 Archaeological trial trenching enables any such discoveries to be evaluated and recorded before any development work commences and will inform any future work which may be necessary if the archaeological remains are complex, include human remains or are otherwise significant, allowing a timetable for the subsequent work to be carried out with minimum delay or disruption to the development.

3.0 Method

The evaluation consisted of the following elements:

3.1 Desk-based assessment

A check of all relevant archaeological and historical databases, records, historic maps and aerial photographs will be undertaken, to build up a picture of previous settlement, land use and historical events which will allow a more accurate prediction of areas of particular archaeological or historical sensitivity before ground breaking work commences. This allows an assessment of the potential for archaeological remains to survive and minimises the risk of finds or features of interest being discovered and damaged during site works.

3.2 Trial Trenching

An evaluation by trial trenching, conducted across the entire application site. The location of these trenches was informed by the results of the desk-based evaluation and a study of the local topography. The trenches were a combination of linear strip trenches and block trenches. 25% of the site was investigated.

4.0 Archaeological Background

4.1 Scheduled Ancient Monuments

Scheduled Ancient Monuments are nationally important monuments protected by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The National Planning Policy Guideline 5. Paragraph 17 states that Scheduled Ancient Monuments are of national importance and it is particularly important that they are preserved in situ and within an appropriate setting. Developments which would have an adverse on Scheduled Monuments or the integrity of their settings should not be permitted unless there were exceptional circumstances.

There is one Scheduled Ancient Monument in the vicinity of the development:

• Clach a’ Charridh cross slab at NH 8555 7471 Sam Ref no. 1674 This is located approximately 100m west of the development, on the other side of the road, re-erected but on its original site. The Scheduled area is relatively small and does not extend as far as the house site. There will be no direct impact on the monument, but there may be an indirect, visual impact on its setting.

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4.2 Recorded archaeological sites

The following sites are recorded in the vicinity of the development on the Highland Historic Environment Record (HER) and the National Monuments Record for (NMRS)

• Old Shandwick burial ground at NH8556 7473 NMRS no. NH87SE 3 HER: MHG 8540 Referred to in Nigg Kirk Sessions in 1832 as the ‘Old burying ground at Clachcarry’ Used until 1790 as burial ground then re-opened for burials during a cholera epidemic in 1832 and burial of unbaptised children and suicides, subsequently ploughed out by the local farm tenant in about 1885. Now no visible trace. Shown on the 1st ed. OS map as NW of the cross slab.

• Old Shandwick, cist burial at NH 8558 7465 NMRS no. NH87SE 5 HER: MHG 8538 (cist) and MHG 41227 (human remains) Stone ‘coffin’ containing a crouched human skeleton discovered in 1945. Finder reported 4-5 possible similar cists between this site and the bungalow at NH 8566 7461

In addition, at Old Shandwick there is another potential Early Christian site at St Cormac’s well near Old Shandwick farm. Just south of the farm was a castle, built in c1460, connected with which was a chapel. The remains of both were removed during the 2nd World War.

The whole area is likely to be rich in archaeological remains, particularly from the Pictish period. Recent work (M. Carver, I Henderson et al) suggest that the whole Easter Ross peninsula, effectively an island, has been sacred ground from the Neolithic period through to the early Christian, with a landscape of ritual monuments and used as a burial place by the wider community.

5.0 Site Description

The site is located at the very northern end of the ridge extending north from the Hill of Nigg and at the western edge of a level fertile terrace 18.5m above sea level and overlooking the village of Shandwick.

The area of the proposed house site is an approximately rectangular, featureless enclosed area used until recently as a grazing paddock but now mown, with some deciduous saplings established in the west corner. To the north is the public road, separated from the site by a deep ditch. Beyond the road the ground rises gently to the site of the Shandwick cross slab. To the east is the farm access track for Old Shandwick, separated from the site by a post and wire fence. To the south is Fortanach House, a bungalow built in 1914. An incomplete line of mature trees forms the former garden boundary. To the west, the fence line is along the break of slope.

4 In the south corner of the site is the concrete base of a former stable.

The given location of the burial found during ditching in 1945 is between 5 and 15m west of this boundary fence. Along this section of the road, the drainage ditch is particularly deep and wide. This would place the ‘4-5 possible similar cists between this site and the bungalow’ in the field to the west and not therefore within the development area.

View west from site: Gorse bushes, centre, on horizon indicate approximate location of cist burial uncovered in 1945.

6.0 Trial Trenching

This was carried out on 26.11.08 in dry and sunny weather conditions. Seven trenches were investigated as follows:

Trench 1. Running from 4m east of the NW corner of the site along the north boundary, set 1m in from the fence and curving round to the gateway on the farm access track.

Stratigraphy: 1. Topsoil: sandy, stone-free to a depth of 600mm 2. Subsoil: cream-orange sandy, containing a small number of rounded stones. Towards the east end of the trench this became grittier and stonier

No archaeological features were noted in this trench. (Photos 11, 12)

5 Trench 2. Running from 4m south of the NW corner of the site along the west boundary, set 1m in from the fence and terminating at the concrete building base.

Stratigraphy: 1. Topsoil: sandy, stone-free to a depth of 600mm 2. Subsoil: mottled cream-orange-grey surface (Photo 13)

No archaeological features were noted in this trench. (Photo no. 14)

Trench 3. Running parallel to Trench 2 and to its east by 4m

Stratigraphy: 1. Topsoil: sandy, stone-free to a depth of 300mm, notably shallower than Trenches 1 and 2 2. Subsoil: Mostly mottled cream-orange-grey but SE of centre this became markedly gravelly and gritty (Photo no. 15)

No archaeological features were noted in this trench.

Trench 4. Running from SE of the field access gate, parallel to the east boundary, set in from the fence by 1m.

Stratigraphy: 1. Topsoil: sandy, stone-free to a depth of 600mm, becoming gravelly and mixed at the SE end of the trench, possibly the result of tree root disturbance, and containing a number of roots 2. Subsoil: mottled cream-orange-grey but, to the south, with occasional grey ‘shadows’ which have been interpreted as the remains of tree roots (Photo no. 17)

The following archaeological features were noted:

1. Plough or adze marks (possible) A number of thin cross-hatched cuts into the subsoil, infilled with grey mixed soil (Photos 18, 19, 20) The majority of these cuts run E-W and are too crowded and irregularly spaced to be modern plough marks, while one clear cut runs N-S but is otherwise of the same dimensions and depth. These may be the remains of early cultivation which have survived at the field edge

2. Possible ditch or cut: A marked colour change indicated the south edge of a possible feature (Photos 21, 22) crossing the trench. No north edge could be discerned as the area immediately to the north of the south edge was the location of a recently dug and infilled test pit associated with the present development. And the redeposited material was mixed soil and subsoil. The surviving undisturbed part was investigated by excavating a section (Photos 23, 24, 25) This showed that there was a sharp edge to the cut and that the undisturbed subsoil shelved down at an angle of 45º before levelling at a depth below the original subsoil of 300mm. The fill of the feature was a homogeneous grey soil, stone free.

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Possible plough or adze marks in Trench 4

Edge of ditch or cut in Trench 4

It is still unclear whether this feature was natural or artificial as unfortunately not enough survived intact. However, no stone slabs or other material were removed and re-deposited during digging of the test pit and it can be concluded with some certainty that no cist burials were associated with the cut.

Trench 5. Running across the gap between trenches 3 and 4 in the south part of the central area, aligned NNE-SSW

Stratigraphy: 1. Topsoil: sandy, stone-free to a depth of 500mm 2. Subsoil: mottled cream-orange sandy

No archaeological features were noted in this trench.

7 Trench 6. Running across the gap between trenches 3 and 4 at the mid point of the central area, aligned NNE-SSW (Photo 31)

Stratigraphy: 1. Topsoil: sandy, stone-free to a depth of 300-400mm 2. Subsoil: cream-orange sandy. Towards the NNE end of the trench this became very stony, with embedded slabs. These slabs were investigated as the only significant stone found during the trial trenching and, although small, beingslab-like were potentially the remains of cists. However, they appear to be fragmented bedrock randomly embedded in the compacted and undisturbed subsoil (Photos 29, 30)

The following archaeological features were noted in this trench.

3. Plough marks (possible) In this trench only, three linear cuts into the subsoil surface. These were broad, 150mm wide, and spaced 500mm apart. A section across one of the cuts revealed a shallow V-shaped profile, the lowest point being 30mm below the subsoil surface. These, probably coincidentally, ran parallel to the trench, NNE-SSW (Photos 26-28)

Trench 7. Running across the gap between Trenches 3 and 4 in the north part of the central area, aligned NNE-SSW

Stratigraphy: Topsoil: depth rising from 500mm at NNE to 300mm at SSW end Subsoil: Gravelly to the NNE and sandy-stony to the SSW

No archaeological features were noted in this trench.

7.0 Conclusions and Recommendations

The archaeological features exposed in the trenches, the plough marks and possible cut, give an insight into previous land use and cultivation techniques, but are of local interest only and no mitigation measures are recommended to preserve or investigate them further.

The 4-5 possible cist burials reported in 1945 were not located during this trial trenching. It is possible that they are all located to the west of the development area in the adjacent field, which would place them between the findspot of one cist and the bungalow, although they would have to be tightly grouped to fit into this area. It is equally possible that, as only 25% of the development area was investigated, they remain undisturbed in the 75% not opened. For this reason, further monitoring during topsoil stripping and excavation of foundation trenches may be advisable.

8 8.0 Photographic Record (Digital)

Photo no. Trench no. Description Angle of view 1 general General view of site after completion of trial From NW trenching, with Fortanach House on the right, Old Shandwick behind the trees, centre 2 general View of site from Shandwick cross slab after From NW completion of trial trenching. Land rising to the Hill of Nigg on the right 3 general View of site from Shandwick cross slab after From NW completion of trial trenching. 4 general View to the Hill of Nigg from the Shandwick cross From N slab, with development site on left 5 general View from NW corner of site towards approximate From E location of 1945 cist burial, probably in ditch beyond gorse bushes on horizon. Road is to the right of this 6 general Closer view from NW corner of site towards From E approximate location of 1945 cist burial, 7 general SW part of site, beyond young tree. Note cut for From ESE road on the horizon 8 general View across site with Shandwick cross slab on From SE horizon, centre 9 general View from NW part of the site to cross slab on From SE horizon. 10 general North part of site with Shandwick village just From SW visible and Balintore in distance 11 Trench 1 Subsoil surface uncovered From WSW 12 Trench 1 General view From WSW 13 Trench 2 Subsoil surface From NE 14 Trench 2 General view From NW 15 Trench 3 Gritty gravel subsoil surface From SW 16 Trench 4 General view From SE 17 Trench 4 Irregularly shaped ‘shadow’ of tree root at the SE From NE end of trench 18 Trench 4 Possible plough or adze marks on subsoil surface From SE 19 Trench 4 Possible plough or adze marks on subsoil surface From NE 20 Trench 4 Possible plough or adze marks on subsoil surface From NW 21 Trench 4 Possible cut or ditch , slightly curving south edge. From SE Area disturbed during excavation of test pit at top of picture 22 Trench 4 Possible cut or ditch , slightly curving south edge. From NE Undisturbed subsoil surface to left, fill of cut to right 23 Trench 4 Possible cut or ditch , beginning of investigation of From SW section, showing homogeneous fill of cut. 24 Trench 4 Possible cut or ditch , beginning of investigation of From NW section, showing homogeneous fill of cut. Disturbed ground at bottom of picture 25 Trench 4 Possible cut or ditch , beginning of investigation of From SW section, showing homogeneous fill of cut. 26 Trench 6 Possible plough marks running parallel to trench From WSW 27 Trench 6 Possible plough marks and excavated section From WSW 28 Trench 6 Possible plough marks From ESE 29 Trench 6 slabs of probable bedrock embedded naturally in From WSW subsoil 30 Trench 6 slabs of probable bedrock embedded naturally in From ESE subsoil

9 31 Trench 6 General view, plough marks in foreground, From WSW embedded slabs in far end 32 general North part of site after trenching completed From SW

9.0 Data Sources and References

The following data sources were consulted during the desk-based assessment for the evaluation

• Highland Council HER, Historic Environment Record • National Monuments Record for Scotland (NMRS) • 1st Edition OS map • Old maps held by the Map Library within the National Library of Scotland

Catherine Dagg, BA, AIFA 2, Ruigh’Riabhach Scoraig Peninsula Dundonnell Wester Ross IV23 2RE Tel: 01854 633 337 6.1.09

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Plan 1. Location of Site

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Plan 2. Location of trenches

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