EHG6133 - Watching brief - cable route, Reay

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Highland Archaeology Services in 2023 during the development of a new cable route at Reay, Caithness for SSE Networks. The project involved the excavation of a narrow L-shaped trench measuring between 0.4m – 1m in width, with a total length of 185m. The trench was excavated up to 0.35-0.6m in depth in order to facilitate the development of the laying of a 11kv cable on land to the east of the village. Two features were exposed during fieldwork, a black, dense sandy deposit which was exposed in the section and a midden containing marine molluscs, animal bones and prehistoric pottery. Recommendations were made for post-excavation work including flotation and botanical analysis of material from the black, dense sandy deposit (feature 1) and the midden (feature 2). If suitable material is identified, it was recommended that AMS dates from each of the features are obtained. It was also recommended that specialist reports for the prehistoric pottery and marine molluscs are obtained. <1>