EHG765 - Geophysical surveys - Hilton of Cadboll

Geophysical surveys were undertaken by Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd in 1997 at Hilton of Cadboll on behalf of Professor Carver of the Department of Archaeology, University of York. These surveys formed part of a wider research evaluation programme being carried out at Hilton of Cadboll by Professor Carver. The aim of the survey programme was to map sub-surface archaeological remains both in and around the earthwork site of Hilton of Cadboll. It was hoped that the geophysical surveys would define the focus or foci of the archaeological site allowing any further invasive evaluation work to be well targeted, thereby minimising its destructive impact on the site while maximising its research yield. A further objective of the survey was to identify the original position of the Hilton of Cadboll carved stone which is now in the care of the National Museums of Scotland. It had been proposed that a full-size replica of the stone should be erected on the site and a suitable location for the replica was required. Although the nature of the site presented serious difficulties with the effective application of geophysical techniques, the survey programme was successful as it identified previously unknown areas of potentially significant archaeological activity. The results of the geophysical surveys also indicate that the site of chapel enclosure was more complex than suggested by the surviving earthwork features and seemed to suggest that the site was in use for a long period, being altered and adapted through time rather than being a single phase development which fell into disuse within a relatively short period. Both the magnetometer and soil resistance surveys identified a concentration of anomalies to the east of the chapel enclosure situated on an area of relatively high ground. At the centre of this group lay a possible building (S2) of similar size and orientation as the so-called chapel. Around S2 both geophysical surveys identified several large irregular anomalies many of which appear to be archaeological in character. <1>