EHG6251 - Watching brief - new house plot, Raasay

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2024 on land northwest of Raasay House, on the Island of Raasay, in advance of the construction of a proposed new house, access track and associated infrastructure. The watching brief revealed a total of 15 negative cut features including pits, gully-type features, and possible old service trenches. Excavation of the features produced post-medieval artefacts including ceramics and glass, fragments of roofing slate and coal, and large quantities of clinker. Most of the features appeared to be associated with the use of Raasay House during the early to mid-20th century, with the clinker deriving from the cleaning out of the boiler for the heating system. A similar set of features was revealed during the archaeological evaluation carried out in advance of developments associated with the new Raasay Outdoor Centre in 2003 (MHG47854). However, unlike the results from the earlier evaluation, no prehistoric features or artefacts were recovered as a part of this watching brief. <1>