EHG5748 - Trial trenching - proposed development, St Andrews Road, Dingwall

Trial trenching was carried out by AOC Archaeology Group in 2022 on land proposed for housing development on St Andrew's Road, Dingwall. This replaced the original requirement for a watching brief when survey plans showed data that indicated the site had been built up significantly from material moved by the surrounding development during previous years. The area of the evaluation measured approximately 1ha and consisted of a rectangular, roughly grassed area with occasional small trees/saplings, approximately 200m in length by 50m wide. A total of 2 evaluation trenches were excavated. Trenches were dug using a mechanical excavator fitted with a 1.8m wide straight-edged bucket, directed by an archaeologist to establish the presence or absence of infill material. Two small areas, approximately 600m2, were thought to be potentially undisturbed. An evaluation trench was excavated across each area. Trench 1 (SE corner) was c. 7m long. Trench 2 measured c.13m long and lay across an area adjacent to protected trees at the north-western corner of the terrace. No archaeology was present. <1>