EHG5345 - Trial trenching - Ness Castle, Inverness (Phase 3)

Archaeological trial trenching was undertaken by Highland Archaeology Services in 2019 in advance of development by Barratt North Scotland of a green field site assigned for new residential housing (Ness Castle Phase 3) at Ness Castle, Inverness. A total of 53 evaluation trenches were opened on the site to examine a 7% sample of the proposed development footprint. Archaeologically significant deposits were revealed in just 6 of the trenches including localised and linear cut soil features and concentrations of glacial cobbles, the latter considered to represent agricultural clearance cairns. None of the archaeological features or deposit identified produced any dating evidence earlier than the later post medieval period and none are considered to represent significant buried archaeology. On the basis of the evidence recorded in the evaluation trenches it was concluded that the site has negligible archaeological potential and no further archaeological mitigation was recommended. <1>