EHG5492 - Watching brief - Muirtown Basin, Inverness

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Highland Archaeology Services in 2018 to monitor ground breaking works for the installation of a new septic tank and outflow pipe at Muirton Basin, Inverness. The study area forms part of the Caledonian Canal and falls within the footprint of the Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 5292). The work revealed modern surfacing and deposits of made ground, services and disturbances. These mainly overlay archaeologically sterile gravels that were interpreted, at least in part, to reflect material brought on to the site for the formation of the canal embankment. A number of buried structures were also located within the trenches including stone wall foundations and brick surfacing, all of probable later 19th or early 20th century date. Some of these features correspond with buildings and structures depicted on the 1867 Inverness Town Plan although some do not. A deposit containing parts of tarred sleepers and double-headed iron rails along with fragments of wooden barrels was interpreted to reflect redeposited material derived from the early 19th century dockside railway spur, which is shown on the 1907 and later Ordnance Survey maps of the area. The results of the project confirm that the area of the Caledonian Canal Scheduled Monument contains buried features and deposits associated with the construction and use of the canal basin, some of which are not recorded by contemporary documentary or cartographic sources. <1>