EHG6096 - Excavation - Barrow cemetery, Tarradale (Tarradale Through Time)

A programme of archaeological evaluation and open area excavation was carried out by West Coast Archaeological Services, volunteers and members of the North of Scotland Archaeological Society in 2019 at the Tarradale Barrow Cemetery, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire as part of the Tarradale Through Time Project. The cemetery and associated features at Tarradale form one of the largest to be identified through aerial imagery in Scotland. The fieldwork targeted three specific areas of the barrow cemetery and was successful in locating and evaluating a selection of archaeological features originally identified through aerial imagery. These included a number of round and square barrows, larger circular, oval and square enclosures, and two large pit features, while the excavations also identified a number of new features including three round barrows, post-holes, pits, an unenclosed grave, a log coffin burial and another possible log coffin grave. In particular, excavation focused on the evaluation of some of the larger monuments that have received only limited attention at other barrow cemetery sites across Scotland. A programme of post-excavation analysis was planned for 2020 including submitting samples for radiocarbon dating. The results from the radiocarbon dating programme will form an essential element in providing a chronological framework for the identified monuments and features at the site and allow comparisons to be made with other excavated sites in Scotland. <1>