EHG5531 - Walkover survey - Kirkton, Golspie

A walkover survey was carried out by C Dagg in 2017 on an area of proposed enclosure and new woodland planting north of Kirkton near Golspie on the Sutherland Estate, Sutherland. The aim of the survey was to provide a detailed archaeological and historical background and a gazetteer of visible archaeological features and areas of potential archaeological interest. Of the thirty archaeological sites recorded, five were Modern, ie post-dating the Sutherland Estate improvements and clearances of 1811. Of the rest, ten were almost definitely prehistoric, dating to the Bronze or Iron Age, and eleven were early modern, relating to settlement and land use immediately prior to the Clearances of 1811. The remaining four, sites 11, 12, 14 and 24, were probably multi-period, with both Prehistoric and Early Modern elements. It was recommended that all the sites be protected from planting within exclusion zones extending 5m in radius from minor features and linear features, and 20m in radius from sites of regional importance. Sites with multiple individual features should be treated as one site, with planting kept back by 20m from the outermost feature edge. Individual sites with what is considered to be a chronological or visual relationship with neighbouring sites should also be treated as one area, leaving the space between sites unplanted. <1>