EHG6555 - Walkover and GPS survey - new house plot, Upper Milovaig, Skye

A programme of archaeological work involving a preliminary GPS survey followed by trial trenching evaluation and recording (see EHG6556) were undertaken by Avon Archaeology (Highland) in 2026 in advance of the redevelopment of an abandoned and ruinous croft farmstead at Upper Milovaig, Glendale, Isle of Skye. The archaeological work was undertaken in accordance with the requirements of a Condition attached to planning consent 25/04179/FUL issued by Highland Council for the construction of a new dwelling and associated infrastructure. The project was designed to record the remains of the former croft farmstead prior to its destruction as part of proposed redevelopment, the remains of which were preserved as an unroofed and ruined croft farmhouse and a series of associated earthworks that included an attached enclosure. The preliminary walkover and GPS survey recorded the principal remains of the croft farmstead that were preserved in the proposed area of redevelopment. The evaluation stage enabled the fabric, organisation and structural phasing of the ruined dwelling to be examined in detail and to recover some limited stratified dating evidence. In combination, the documentary and archaeological evidence gathered during the project indicates that the croft farmstead was established in the earlier 19th century, certainly prior to the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1878 and most likely in the first half of the century before finally being abandoned and unroofed by 1904. <1>