EHG5201 - Watching Brief - Applecross Telecoms Cable

An archaeological watching brief and sample sieving exercise was carried out by GUARD Archaeology in 2018 on behalf of WSP, during the archaeological mitigation works along the route of an underground fibre optic telecommunication cable between Applecross and Tornapress, Ross and Cromarty. The cable trench, recorded in four sections (Trenches 1-4) due to its length (1,417 m), measured approximately 0.4 m in width and between 0.45 m and 1.0 m in depth. It covered the area along the C1091 starting at the north of the village of Applecross near the church and running parallel with the western edge of the single-track carriageway along the seafront before it carried on across a pasture field between the C1091 and C1087 roads. Approximately 50 x 3-5 litre samples were sieved during the watching brief. Where topsoil or other sediment was apparent along the Applecross Bay area (Trenches 2 and 4) the soil was sieved at 10 m intervals. A total of five 3 litre samples were also sieved from the area between the C1091 and C1087 roads (Trench 3). A number of sea shells and modern ceramic were retrieved during the sample sieving along the Applecross Bay area (Trenches 2 & 4), but none of this material was retained. No material culture was present in any of the five samples sieved for the C1091 to C1087 section (Trench 3). During the course of the monitoring, no archaeological features or significant finds were recorded. <1>