EHG6024 - Watching brief - Water main rehab, Dores

An archaeological desk-based assessment and watching brief was carried out by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2022-23 in advance of a water main replacement project focused on Dores, to the southwest of Inverness. The work was undertaken to assess the nature and extent of any archaeological sites likely to be affected within the areas outlined for the proposed development works and pipeline route and in order to inform recommendations for the protection and management of any sites recovered. The desk-based assessment including the investigation of aerial imagery covering the area, identified several archaeological sites within the wider landscape surrounding the developments. The sites include prehistoric burial cairns, hut circles, post- medieval buildings and farmsteads, a corn mill and mill pond, sluices and finds from metal detecting from the prehistoric to post-medieval periods. A large section of the proposed water main runs along the general alignment of General Wade’s Military road between Inverness and Dores/Fort Augustus. Based on the results of the desk-based assessment, three areas of the water main route were selected for archaeological watching briefs. Two of the watching briefs selected where located where the pipeline route crosses or runs close to the alignment of the military road produced no results. The watching brief focused on a section of the water main renewal route running to the northwest of Dores Parish Church recorded a section of ditch, possibly associated with the medieval church enclosure, and the stone-lined bank of a 18th century mill pond and associated lade. <1>