EHG6419 - Watching brief - proposed holiday lodges, near Knockfarrell

A watching brief (strip and record) project was undertaken by Avon Archaeology (Highland) in 2025 near Eastside, Knockfarrell, during preliminary topsoil stripping for three new holiday lodges and associated access. The project was designed to identify and record all buried archaeological features, deposits and finds, in particular buried features or deposits associated with prehistoric funerary and/or settlement-related activity, which had been recorded in the vicinity of the site. In the main the strip and record fieldwork recorded a uniform and simple sequence of deposits across the majority of the site that were entirely archaeologically sterile. Evidence of some past human activity was recorded in the area of the proposed new agricultural building where the remains of a small truncated pit and a pair of intercutting postholes were revealed and recorded. No artefacts were recovered from the features although, on the basis of their general character alone, both the pit and the intercutting postholes were provisionally considered to most likely date from the prehistoric period and, again, most likely reflect unspecified settlement-related activity. In summary, whilst the archaeological strip and record project identified and recorded evidence for some unspecified human activity of low intensity at the margin of the site, which was provisionally dated to the prehistoric period on the basis of its general character alone and may reflect past settlement-related activity, it was nonetheless concluded that the fieldwork did not locate any important buried archaeological remains and no further archaeological mitigation was recommended. Note - The fill of Pit 104 contained some charred plant material that was bulk sampled for possible further scientific analysis in order to recover charred material suitable for radiocarbon dating. A decision to undertake further processing and analysis of the sample rests with Highland Council. <1>