EHG5363 - Watching brief - Kingsteps, Nairn

A watching brief was carried out intermittently by AOC Archaeology Group in February-August 2019 on land at Kingsteps, Nairn, in advance of the construction of a new housing development with associated infrastructure (17/05667/FUL). The watching brief was required over a specific area of the site as part of a planning requirement, investigating an area where an evaluation carried out the previous year (see EHG5362) had uncovered three archaeological features in two locations. A total of 43 features were identified during the work, including 8 drains, 3 large pits, 2 postholes, 3 linear features, and 27 pits. Three features contained artefacts which suggest that the site had been used intermittently from the prehistoric period onwards. <1> Post-excavation work revealed that the site was multi-period. The archaeological features excavated comprised a possible Mesolithic feature, Neolithic fire pits, Early and Late Bronze Age pits, Iron Age and Pictish pits, and linear post-medieval features. In addition, further pits were identified which were similar in form and size to the Bronze Age pits and have therefore been interpreted as possibly prehistoric in date. <2>