EHG4309 - Test-pitting - John O Groats Hotel

Following geophysical surveys involving both resistivity and magnetometry (see EHG124) Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) carried out a programme of test pitting in the area immediately surrounding the John O'Groat's Hotel in advance of a proposed extension scheme. Twenty pits were laid out across the area, with most being 1 x 0.5m in size, and their depths ranged between 0.4 - 0.75m. They were positioned in the most 'interesting' locations identified from the geophysical survey, some were placed in areas where it was difficult to draw a firm conclusion from the geophysical data and some were placed on the south side of the development area to see whether the archaeological features seen during excavations in 1989 (see EHG996) extended that far north. The most promising geophysical anomalies did prove to be buried features but they were not archaeological in nature, with most relating to modern pipes. Only one pit (No.2) produced what might have been an archaeological feature, but on balance it may have been a product of clearance prior to or during the construction of the hotel. <1>