EHG3371 - Watching brief - topsoil stripping, A830 Loch Nan Uamh to Arisaig road improvements

Further to previous evaluations and excavations associated with the A830 Loch Nan Uamh to Arisaig road improvements (see EHG1373, EHG2944, EHG3369 and EHG3370) in 2005, topsoil stripping across several areas was monitored by CFA Archaeology in 2007 as the final phase of archaeological works. At the site of the excavated burnt mound at Arisaig (Site 51) no features of archaeological significance were found. A lens of burnt material related to the previous excavation of the burnt mound was noted along the northern edge of the monitored area. At Brunery Burn, the remains of both post-medieval structures previously excavated were removed by mechanical excavator under constant archaeological supervision; no trace of earlier structures or other underlying features were noted. No other features of archaeological significance were found. At Borrodale West monitoring revealed forty-eight possible features. During the subsequent excavation, the site was cleaned and planned. Nine features were considered to have archaeological potential. The remainder were discounted, upon investigation, as being non-anthropogenic in origin. Seven pits (202, 1006, 1007, 1012, 1022 and 1023, 1033) and two linear features (1030 and 1027) were excavated. All were shallow, the cuts were poorly defined and the depositional sequence in the vertical profile was often more complex than was apparent in plan. At Borrodale East the watching brief revealed ten possible features. During the subsequent excavation, the site was cleaned and planned. Six features were considered to have archaeological potential. The remainder were discounted, upon investigation, as being non-anthropogenic in origin. Four possible pits, a lintelled drain and a shallow feature were recorded. It was recommended there there was no requirement for post-excavation works on the results of the watching brief. It was intended that the results from the phase of work at Borrodale would be incorporated into the archive report on the fieldwork. The negative results from the watching brief at Arisaig and Brunary did not require any further reporting. <1> A post-excavation archive report was produced, combining work from West and East Borrodale. <2> The excavation assemblage from the 2007 work was submitted to Treasure Trove (TT 30/11) and allocated to the NMS. They are listed under Acc. No. 2010.11. <3> <4> <5>