EHG6090 - Trial trenching - possible castle site, Tarradale (Tarradale Through Time)

A programme of archaeological evaluation was undertaken by AOC Archaeology Group as part of a community archaeological project near Tarradale House, Muir of Ord. This investigation was undertaken by excavating three trenches located on the upper and lower edges of a raised beach. They were targeted to explore concentrations of medieval redware pottery and iron nails found during successive seasons of fieldwalking and several geophysical anomalies identified in the same areas. Investigation in this area aimed to clarify if these findspots and geophysical features believed to represent buried archaeological deposits relating to the possible medieval castle site at Tarradale mentioned in historical documents. Excavation proved that the geophysical anomalies were either natural features or minor differentiation in ploughsoil. Due to the limited results on the upper terrace, two trenches were excavated to investigate potential sites at the base of the hillslope. In one trench, a spread of dark charcoal-rich material was the only evidence of archaeological activity encountered. A small quantity of potentially medieval pottery sherds and a metal buckle were recovered during the works. <1>