EHG6093 - Trial excavation - Gilchrist (Tarradale Through Time)

A programme of archaeological evaluation and recording was undertaken by Highland Archaeology Services in 2018 at the site of a suggested promontory fort at Gilchrist, Tarradale, with a team of volunteers and members of the public as part of the ongoing Tarradale Through Time research project. The fieldwork involved the excavation of four evaluation trenches that were opened in agricultural land and adjacent rough ground. The trenches confirmed the presence of buried archaeological deposits and features consistent with an enclosure bounded on the east side by a series of four concentric ditches of differing sizes, three of which were previously indicated by aerial photographs, and marshland on the remaining three sides. A trench opened down the north flank of the enclosure, into the adjacent peat bog and wetland, revealed evidence for a further, lateral, ditch and the remains of a subsequent lateral boundary, probably a wall, indicated by cobblestones and rubble, behind which cultural deposits containing charred plant material, pottery sherds and a schist quernstone had been deposited and immediately beyond which deposits of peat had accumulated. Excavation of the peat for the recovery of environmental columns revealed a large waterlogged timber tapered to a rough point, possibly a structural stake or pile. A further small trench was opened towards the western end of the promontory to examine the location of a prominent cropmark visible on aerial photographs. The cutting revealed a shallowly buried layer of very well consolidated clay and small stones the upper surface of which was scoured by plough marks, which is tentatively interpreted to reflect the remains of a rammed clay floor. The presence of the deposit raised the possibility that a more extensive structure or structures, contemporary with the formation and use of the promontory enclosure, were preserved at that location. The interim report set out the preliminary results of the project and all primary record tables. It included recommendations for a final stage of post-excavation analysis and reporting work to ensure that the important archaeological evidence recorded on the site was fully examined, understood and disseminated. <1>