EHG1434 - Trial trenching - proposed housing development, Muir of Ord

A trial trenching evaluation was undertaken by Headland Archaeology in 2006 on the site of a proposed housing development near Muir of Ord, Ross-shire. The evaluation comprised an initial desk-based assessment prior to a trial trench evaluation. The desk-based assessment included a consultation of documentary and cartographic evidence within the Development Area, and within a wider Study Area, which generally extended 1000m from the centre of the site. Within the site one cropmark of a possible prehistoric settlement site had been identified from aerial photographs. The field evaluation entailed a 15% evaluation of the 5.1ha ha Development Area. Fifty-seven trenches were excavated and one feature, a linear ditch running in a NW-SE direction was recorded in the south-western margins of the site. This was considered most likley to be a modern agricultural field boundary, as the deposit within the ditch was archaeologically sterile, and very similar to the overlying topsoil. It was not regarded as being archaeologically significant. The absence of any archaeological features in the area of the identified cropmark suggested that the cropmark might have been related to variations in the natural geology. No further archaeological work was recommended. <1>