EHG6246 - Trial trenching -proposed new housing, Schoolhouse Belt, Conon Bridge

An archaeological trial trenching evaluation was undertaken by Highland Archaeology Services in 2024 ahead of the development of a housing estate at Schoolhouse Belt, to the south of Conon Bridge. The evaluation was conducted in two stages, the first between the 21st and 22nd of March and the second on the 3rd and 4th of June 2024. The March fieldwork was undertaken to prepare an access and laydown area to facilitate the following fieldwork. This was therefore incorporated into the trench plan as Trench 1. The rest of the trench layout was completed in June with a random area sample. The layout of the trenches proposed in the WSI were altered slightly in order to ensure a core path and public path would not be affected by the trial trenching. This resulted in 3 of the trenches being split in order to accommodate access along the paths. A total of 17 trenches were opened including trench 1. This totalled 2210m² being excavated and 14% of the trenchable area was covered. In Trench 1, a 1m wide 0.4m deep circular pit was investigated. It was filled with densely packed charcoal with a small deposit of grey silty clay. There was a large amount of unburnt bark which was in a good state of preservation, there was no other natural material in the pit and no artefacts were recovered from the fill. The cut of the pit was fairly sharp and sloping, however the feature was not dug to the base as it surpassed the water table and filled with water immediately. Along the sides of the pit there was evidence of heat affected sand suggesting the feature had been burnt in situ. The feature was considered likely to be a modern burning pit, possibly occurring during the felling of the previous iteration of the woodland. The pit was therefore not considered archaeologically significant. Otherwise, no significant archaeological features or artefacts were recovered, and no further works were recommended. <1>