EHG6274 - Watching brief - new house plot Allan Square, Cromarty

An archaeological desk-based assessment and watching brief was carried out by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2024 in advance of the erection of a new house and associated works at Bank House, Allan Square, Cromarty. The work was undertaken to assess the nature and extent of any archaeological features or deposits likely to be affected within the areas outlined for development and to inform recommendations for further archaeological input or mitigation measures to enable the management and protection of any features or deposits uncovered. The watching brief monitoring the excavation of test pits for drainage was carried out on the 7th of March 2024 and watching brief for the ground clearance was carried out on the 29th and 30th of July 2024. The only archaeological features recorded were located adjacent to the gable-end of No.5 Allan Square, which included the later concrete footings of a lean-to shed, a stone-lined drain with capstones, a post pad, posthole, and robber trench for a demolished wall, all of which most likely related to restructuring of buildings on Allan Square during the late 18th and 19th centuries. The only finds recovered during the works included small fragments of post-medieval ceramics and bottle glass, a bone knife handle, a glass fitting from furniture, clay pipe stems, roofing slate fragments, butchered animal bone, some marine shell including oysters, fragments of coal, and some modern plastics. <1>