EHG6556 - Trial trenching - new house plot, Upper Milovaig, Skye

A programme of archaeological work involving a preliminary GPS survey (see EHG6555) followed by trial trenching and recording 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. Stratified finds were restricted to a small assemblage of later post-medieval White ware and Transfer-printed ware pottery recovered from the fill of an internal drain. The assemblage was consistent with an earlier 19th century date for the construction and use of the dwelling. On the basis of its overall arrangement and the evidence gathered during the present project it was suggested that the Milovaig crofthouse broadly conformed to a recognised style of rural dwelling that was once the norm on Skye, its rounded external corners indicating a chimneyless hip-ended roof and overhanging eaves typical of the ‘Skye Type’. In view of the results of the survey and evaluation project it was concluded that the remains of the former croft farmstead had now been adequately evaluated, examined and recorded and that no further archaeological site work was justified, either in advance of or during future site development works. <1>