EHG5841 - Watching brief - new water main, Leanaig-Tore

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2021 as required by Scottish Water with respect to the insertion of a new water pipeline at Newton of Kinkell, Muir of Ord. The watching brief was carried out due to the presence of known archaeological sites in the vicinity and the potential for identification of further surviving archaeological finds, features and deposits. All groundworks were monitored by an archaeologist by way of a controlled topsoil strip. The archaeologist directed digging by a mechanical excavator fitted with a 1.6m-wide smooth- bladed bucket in order to establish the presence or absence of archaeological remains within the development area. The topsoil was stripped away to the subsoil interface in advance of the cutting of the narrower (0.6m wide) trench to insert the new water main. This allowed adequate time to evaluate any recovered features, while the use of the wider excavator bucket provided better visibility in identifying any buried archaeological features. A small number of features were recorded during the watching brief including a post-medieval stone spread, a stone dyke and associated stone-filled ditch, a second stone-filled ditch, and a pit of possible prehistoric date. The pit contained charcoal and displayed evidence of in-situ burning. In addition to the evaluation of these features, additional post-medieval stone dykes and an access track were recorded, along with the location and extent of a prehistoric long cairn (see MHG27549) at Cairnside, Muir of Allangrange. <1>