EHG672 - Watching brief - King Duncan's Grave, Inverness

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Headland Archaeology in 2002 at Kingswell Service Station, Inverness, a site traditionally identified as the burial place of King Duncan I. The area had been stripped of topsoil before the evaluation using a toothed bucket. All subsequent excavation was undertaken under direct archaeological control, using a JCB 3CX, fitted with a 1.50 m toothless ditching bucket. The trench was stepped back by 0.5 m from the King Duncan memorial plaque, to avoid undermining it. An area of approximately 100m² was stripped of up to 1 m of modern made ground, containing rubble and domestic rubbish. Towards the street frontage this overlay up to 0.20 m of disturbed sandy silt, presumably a colluvial deposit. An interceptor tank and service trenches were located within the stripped area. No archaeologically significant deposits were encountered and no further work is therefore recommended. <1>