EHG4320 - Trial trenching - East Beechwood Farm, Inverness

Archaeological trial trenching was undertaken by AOC Archaeology Group in 2009 on land at East beechwood Farm, Inverness, as part of a phased programme of archaeological works in advance of the development of a proposed new college campus. The initial works consisted of a 5% intrusive evaluation on two land parcels with trenching amounting to a total of some 3,560m². Twenty-two c.50m long trenches were mechanically excavated within Area A with a combined basal area of 2200m². Another fourteen c.50m long trenches were mechanically excavated in Area B. The evaluation revealed numerous features of archaeological significance, including, a large enclosure ditch of probably prehistoric date and a variety of pit and posthole features. Artefacts recovered from the pit features included a single flint flake and prehistoric pottery including Neolithic Grooved Ware. A large quantity of impressed daub was also recovered within the ditch terminus. All features were covered with terram at the end of the evaluation with the trenches then backfilled. It was intended that a mitigation strategy to deal with these findings would be prepared. <1> The archaeological results from this excavation were included in an environmental statement in support of a planning application. <2>