EHG1547 - Monitored topsoil strip - Balblair Quarry, Beauly

The heavily denuded remains of a Bronze Age burial cairn were excavated by Headland Archaeology at Balblair, near Inverness, during 2004 in advance of mineral extraction (see also EHG1245). In addition archaeological monitoring was also carried out during stump removal and topsoil stripping across the entire area subject to the proposed extraction, an area of some 1.3 hectares with a perimeter of approximately 560 metres. The strip was carried out in stages using a tracked excavator fitted with a toothless bucket which permitted the observer to view the ground surface beneath the brash and topsoil before the stumps were removed, minimising disturbance to archaeological deposits. A total of eighteen clearance cairns and ten linear stony banks were recorded. <1> This and previous work was subsequently published in PSAS. <2>