EHG5794 - Watching brief - Fort William to Fort Augustus 123kV OHL Reinforcement

Archaeological mitigation works were undertaken by CFA Archaeology in 2018 during the reinforcement and upgrading of the existing overhead electricity line (OHL) and towers (prefixed ‘FF’) in the Great Glen between Fort Augustus and Fort William. The work included the replacement or removal of several towers and this required the formation of temporary access tracks to reach some of them. The towers were numbered from FF1 at Fort Augustus to FF154 at Fort William. Watching briefs were excluded within afforested land. Floating roads where no excavation work was undertaken or roads made from temporary laid panels were not monitored. Areas specifically targeted by watching briefs initially included Sites 1, 3, 5, 6, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 33, 34, 38, 40, 45, 50, 51 and 54. Survey work at Sites 3, 22, 23 and 27 established they were far enough from any elements of the development that a watching brief was not required. On site assessment of the track upgrade strategy at Sites 5, 6, 21, 23, 26 and 51 meant that no watching brief was required. Work at Site 45 was in afforested land so a watching brief was not undertaken. Within Sites 38 and 40, the temporary access track deviated from the Military Road to avoid areas of poor drainage. Where new drains were used, only in one instance did they encounter archaeological deposits. No significant new sites were recorded but useful information was gathered. <1>