EHG6348 - Watching brief - storm drain, Castle Stuart Golf Course

Archaeological monitoring during excavation of a storm water drainage trench was undertaken by Avon Archaeology (Highland) in 2024 on behalf of Cabot Highlands LLP in accordance with the requirements of Highland Council planning consents 15/03626/FUL and 19/01446/PAN, in an area directly adjacent to Castle Stuart, in advance of preliminary development works for the new Championship Golf Course. Monitoring revealed part of a substantial boundary ditch that once defined the western edge of the post-medieval gardens and evidence of a further group of closely arranged horticultural trenches. Evidence for an earlier but as yet undated buried land surface was also recorded that indicated ground levels were raised across part of the castle grounds prior to the layout of the post-medieval gardens. <1>