EHG5784 - Geophysical survey - Fairburn Tower, Muir of Ord

A geophysical survey was undertaken by Rose Geophysical Consultants 2019, commissioned by Addyman Archaeology, within a field surrounding Fairburn Tower which is a Category A listed square tower, dating from the late 16th to early 17th century, situated west of Muir of Ord. Resistance survey was carried out to map possible structural remains associated with the extant tower. A range of responses was recorded across the survey area. Some small areas could not be surveyed due to bushes and trees and dense areas of rubble / stone. In addition, trenches associated with geotechnical test pits were open at the time of survey. As a result, small areas over the trenches and their associated spoil heaps could not be surveyed. However, this has not detracted from the overall results of the geophysical survey. Two very well defined high resistance anomalies has been recorded immediately to the northwest of the later domestic structure to the west of the tower. The well-defined limits of the anomalies suggest these may indicate in-situ structural remains. Although a modern origin is possible, some documentary evidence suggests that a courtyard associated with the tower existed to the west and south of the tower, and as a result an archaeological origin, contemporary with the tower, cannot be dismissed. A concentration of broad rectilinear anomalies has been recorded in the south of the survey area. Taken together these anomalies give the impression of a collection of buildings, potentially associated with a courtyard, some 35m to the south of the Tower, although no clearly defined courtyard walls leading off the tower are apparent in the data. However, such an interpretation is tentative given the rubble spreads across the site and the lack of archaeological deposits revealed during the excavation of geotechnical test pits. The responses may simply be due to natural variations in the subsurface or due to ground compaction / disturbance associated with the geotechnical test pits themselves. <1>