EHG4044 - Watching Brief - Dores SW Pipeline

A watching brief was carried out in two phases by Rathmell Archaeology in 2007 during groundworks associated with the construction of a new pipeline between Aldourie Primary School and the Inverness Water Treatment Works at Loch Ashie. The pipeline was divided into five sections based on the topography and landuse, these were machined in reverse order so works commenced with Section 5, at Aldourie Primary School and concluded at the access road to the Loch Ashie WTW, Section 1. In the course of the watching brief Jacobs, on behalf of Scottish Water Solutions, negotiated the omission of a portion of Section 2 and all of Section 3. This was a result of an assessment of the potential for the survival of archaeological features and the very limited nature of the impact from the water main installation. Section 1 ran from NH 6325 3637 to the Loch Ashie Water Treatment Works. Only the first 70-100m of the section was monitored, this was due to the realignment of the pipeline as the ground was too soft for the plant. The new route was along the verge of the road, which had been made up to 1m above the peat. No significant archaeological features were identified during the course of the archaeological monitoring. In the lower of the monitored areas the stratigraphy consisted of a topsoil, below which were glacial deposits, essentially showing the geological profile of the lower area of the Great Glen. The upper areas showed thin topsoil over degraded bedrock. <1>