EHG1091 - Trial trenching - Buolfruich, Houstry, Dunbeath, Caithness

Archaeological monitoring and evaluation in the form of trial trenching was undertaken by C Dagg in 2004 as part of phase 2 work being carried out at the location of the wind farm development at Buolfruich, Dunbeath, Caithness. Two trenches were opened revealing some archaeological features north of the proposed access route. The investigation indicated that the areas of soils indicating former cultivation conform to the areas marked as arable on the 1st edition OS and later maps. This suggests that the late 19th century saw the maximum expansion of cultivation. There were no indications of former soil horizons which could indicate prehistoric land use, and no archaeological features were discovered associated with prehistoric settlement. <1>