EHG5206 - Excavation - Mullans Wood, Kilcoy

An archaeological excavation was carried out by AOC Archaeology Group in 2018 at Mullans Wood, Tore, Inverness-shire in advance of woodland replanting. The excavation was carried out after woodland felling operations damaged remnants of a prehistoric field system and roundhouse. Archaeological excavation of the roundhouse was carried out from the 5th to the 13th of March 2018, focussing on the northern half of the structure where archaeological material had been exposed by machine tracking. The banks of the roundhouse and interior of the courtyard were excavated. The work revealed that the structure comprised a stone rubble bank, supported by large boulders, and partially sunken into the subsoil, with some evidence for an internal ring of post-holes that would have supported a roof. A small perforated stone disc was recovered from interior deposits and a small charcoal/macrofossil asemblage was recovered. Only one of three radiocarbon dates were provided successful results – indicating occupation of the site between the 8th to 5th centuries BC. The remnants of clearance cairns and fragmentary boundary walls that formed the field system enclosing the roundhouse were assessed. As the majority of the clearance cairns had been mutilated by forest operations, archaeological monitoring of cairn clearance was undertaken to check for significant material. This did not reveal further archaeological deposits or finds. <1>