EHG6377 - Trial trenching - proposed new house, Eabost, Skye

Archaeological trial trenching was undertaken by Highland Archaeology Services in 2024 in advance of the development of a new house, access and soak-away at Eabost, Isle of Skye. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd and 5th December 2024. The work took place in largely wet and windy conditions. An initial walkover survey recorded the remains of three upstanding building remains, three enclosures and two associated walls archaeological remains. The evaluation sought to characterise and record the structure by excavating five trenches over the recorded features. Two trenches were then opened over structures 2 and structure 3 along with another three trenches over the walls of enclosures identified during the survey. The recorded archaeology, in combination with documentary evidence, indicated that Structure 1 was the first structure on the site and was depicted on the OS 1st edition map surveyed between 1873 and 1874. By the time of the 2nd edition map surveyed in 1902 the inner enclosure had been built as well as Structure 2, a small square structure believed to have been a store. Sometime after this the outer enclosure and annex of the inner enclosure were built. The features found on Structure 3 during the survey as well as the level of preservation would seem to indicate that the structure was built during the first half of the twentieth century. The ephemeral nature of the walls recorded to the west of the site may indicate that the site may have an even earlier date. Evidence of structures being replaced over time within a site is typical in rural areas in the Highlands and Islands and is particularly evident on the islands of the west coast of Scotland.<1>