EHG5634 - Watching brief - Gollanfield Lagoons, Flemington

An archaeological watching brief and recording project was undertaken by Avon Archaeology (Highland) in 2022 in accordance with the requirements of planning consent during preliminary groundworks for two new Pot Ale and Digestate Lagoons at Gollanfield near Inverness. The Strip and Record project was designed to identify, record and characterise all significant archaeological deposits present within the footprint of the two Lagoons, in particular any buried features associated with prehistoric settlement related activity, which is recorded as a scheduled monument approximately 200m to the S of the development area. The recording project has identified evidence for an episode of later post medieval agricultural land drainage and an earlier but undated phase of human activity represented by a curvilinear boundary ditch and associated soil and pit features. An associated group of cut soil features are interpreted to reflect the remains of a possible earthfast structure whilst an adjacent pit appeared to contain two separate groups of deliberately placed animal bones. Further to the preliminary results of the fieldwork stage set out in this DSR and in view of the uncertain date of the boundary ditch and associated soil features in Lagoon area 1, it is recommended that a further selective programme of post-site analysis and reporting is undertaken, to be detailed in a Post Excavation Research Design (PERD). The proposed PERD work would be designed to identify, date and report the excavated animal remains recovered from Pit 124 and to recover charred plant remains from bulk soil samples taken from enclosure ditch 117, as a means to provide material to provide an independent scientific date for the feature. The decision to undertake further post-site PERD analysis work rests with Highland Council. <1>