EHG6053 - Watching brief - Limekilns Wind Farm grid connection

A watching brief was undertaken by AOC Archaeology Group in 2023 in relation to the installation of a new high voltage direct current transmission link between Limekilns Wind Farm to Dounreay Power Station. The project involved the excavation of an underground cable trench and OHL pole replacement along the transmission route, and as such an archaeological watching brief was required in designated areas along the route as well as the demarcating of archaeologically sensitive sites where known monuments had been previously identified. As required by the approved Written Scheme of Investigation Works the Scheduled Monument at Clach Claisan Tuirc Standing Stone (SM441) was fenced off with heras fencing and the western side of a stone built sheepfold was also demarcated with fencing. The watching brief was concentrated on the excavations required for the buried powerline which lay to the immediate east of the Scheduled Monument (SM564) of Knock Urray broch. The monitoring revealed a simple stratigraphy of topsoil over a subsoil covering natural geology throughout the works with two undated features uncovered comprising an oval pit and a shallow, short linear feature aligned north-south. Also recorded were numerous stone filled drainage features aligned northwest-southeast and east-west and a modern machine cut feature. No significant archaeological finds or features were encountered during the works. No further work is considered necessary. <1>