EHG6098 - Walkover survey - Sunart Oakwoods, Ardnamurchan

A walkover survey was undertaken by the Sunart Oakwoods Research Group in 1999-2001 in advance of forest operations associated with the restoration of the Sunart Oakwoods. During the course of the forest operations associated with the restoration of the woods, a good many sites of archaeological interest were discovered, indicating human presence in the area over a period of several thousand years. At the same time, a cursory examination of the available documentary evidence suggested intensive exploitation of the woodlands in the early 18th century and careful management of the woodland resource towards the end of that century and well into the 19th century. It was recognised that there was a need to record the archaeology of the woodlands and to study the associated documentary evidence in order to understand how the woodlands came into existence in the first place, and then, how they came to be in the condition in which they were found at the start of the wider Sunart Oakwood Project. The Millennium Forest For Scotland Trust allocated funds for the Millennium Awards Scheme and a small group of enthusiasts got together to research the history and archaeology of the Sunart Oakwoods Two main areas were surveyed. One being the land on the north side of Loch Sunart between Salen village and Woodend and the other the National Nature Reserve of Ariundle, Forest Enterprise ground and some land in private ownership, extending as far as Ceann a'Chreagain. The survey covered land from the shore to the deer fence, from 100 to 130 m in elevation. Most of the survey area had originally been covered with oak woodland but some higher moorland was included, particularly in the Resipole section. The survey areas were divided up into twenty smaller sections representing either private ownership or Forest Enterprise (FE) planting areas. These varied considerably in size, altitude and topography. The total survey area comprised about 12 km² of ground varying from open oakwoods and moorland to densely planted Sitka spruce and Lodgepole pine. Every accessible metre of ground was walked over and, where light and tree cover allowed, photographs and GPS readings were taken of all sites identified. Surveys were conducted on 131 days and, in addition to the six team members, included the participation of 19 volunteers plus two mentors, J Hooper and P Quelch. On the basis of each day's survey taking approximately 5 hours, the total work was in the region of 1900 person/hours. After June 14th 2000, when Resipole 033a had been reached, a deliberate scramble in the originally US Military GPS system was removed by the U.S.A. Before that, as there was a possible error of up to 30m, fixed points were indicated in the survey notes to make relocation of a site easier. Few of the sites recorded had been noted before this survey. Much of the area sloped steeply from mountain to lochside, intersected with fairly precipitous crags and ravines, as well as boggy areas. Some of the sections planted with Sitka Spruce were nearly impenetrable, and the recently felled areas not much easier to walk. The volunteers walked the survey area in lines approximately 12m apart along the contours where practical. They kept within sight and sound of one another as far as was possible given the very uneven nature of the terrain. Where this was not possible, backcasting took place. When a feature was identified the entire group assembled to record it. It was given a number, measured, photographed and entered in the Record Book and on the map, by the surveyors, who then resumed their positions and continued the sweep. As all of the area was covered by strict environmental protection regulations which prohibited any digging, the sites were identified by surface features only. In the case of areas where felling had recently been completed it was considered likely that further sites were concealed under tree debris. During the summer bracken was a considerable problem and in some areas even dead bracken was impenetrable. Sites recorded included several prehistoric hut circles, beach clearances, buildings, cairns, enclosures and cultivation areas, peat cuttings, pits, stances and recessed platforms, rock shelters and a corn kiln. Pollarded oaks and a general survey of tree species distribution were also recorded. Certain species including ash, holly, hawthorn and laburnum were thought to indicate planting and management in the past. <1>