EHG6056 - Trial trenching - community excavation, Lower Caen, Kildonan (Translocation; Excavating the Highland Clearances)

A community excavation, planned to commemorate the bicentenary of the Kildonan Clearances, was undertaken by The University of The Highlands and Islands (UHI) under the direction of K Strickland in 2013 at the deserted township of Lower Caen. The township is located in the Strath of Kildonan, c2 miles upstream from the village of Helmsdale. Lower Caen is located on a river terrace above the Caen Burn. It is distinct from Upper Caen, which comprises a collection of ruins that extend north, up Caen Burn. An initial programme of topographical mapping and geophysical survey was carried out. As the structural remains were clearly visible the fluxgate gradiometer survey aimed to identify the location of hearths, middens and other possible internal features. Unfortunately, the underlying granite masked not only more subtle responses but even that from a large corn-drying kiln. As a result it was only possible to identify features already visible, such as extant walls and ‘potato’ pits. The topographic information was shared with a team from the University of St Andrews ‘Virtual Worlds’ group in order to develop an immersive ‘Virtual Caen’. The first season of excavations focused upon the final phase of occupation and subsequent abandonment of a single longhouse (Structure 1) and its associated outbuilding (Structure 2). Two L-shaped trenches were laid out to provide a half-section across both structures along the N–S (Trench B) and E–W (Trench A) axes. <1>