EHG5642 - Watching brief - Balvone Braes, Inverness

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by AOC Archaeology Group in 2018 at land 90m NW of 8 Balvonie Street, Milton of Leys, Inverness, in advance of the construction of 49 new dwelling houses and associated infrastructure. The development is situated within an area of archaeological interest; therefore, all site clearance and ground-breaking work was subject to an archaeological watching brief. The watching brief was carried out intermittently between 23rd July 2018 and 16th August 2018 when topsoil stripping was monitored for the compound area, haul/access road and the main development site. One heavily truncated charcoal-rich pit and a second charcoal-rich deposit were recorded during the watching brief. Numerous field drains were also observed over the whole site, as well as the remains of previous evaluation trenches and a modern pit. The ground appeared recently disturbed in many areas, with building debris possibly from recent housing developments at Balvonie Street to the southeast. <1>