The area of the proposed pipeline has been shown by previous GUARD and RCAHMS surveys to form part of a landscape rich in archaeological remains dating from the prehistoric period up to the 19th century. These include former townships, structures as well as banks, sheepfolds, clearance cairns and areas of rig and furrow. The walkover survey conducted as part of this project has confirmed the presence of many of these features on the route. The greatest concentration of archaeological remains is at the SW end of the route near Rottal Burn.

SUAT has previously worked with Duncan Strachan, a specialist in castle restoration and consolidation, and was invited to work with him on the consolidation of the ruins of Moy Castle, funded by HLF and other bodies. As part of the ongoing conservation of the fabric of the castle, various archaeological works have been required by Historic Scotland’s Inspector of Ancient Monuments.

 Moy Castle stands on a low rock platform at the head of Loch Buie on the island of Mull. The castle is a modest-sized tower-house formerly incorporating a small enclosure or barmkin on the SE side. Much of the surviving fabric of the tower can be ascribed to the first half of the 15th century. Some alterations and additions, confined mainly to the upper works of the tower, were carried out about the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the castle was finally abandoned as a domestic residence about 1752.

SUAT’s role in the project is an unusual one, essentially an excavation high above the ground. The collapse of the castle roof (one of the earliest uses of Easdale slate) and garret floor, and general accumulation of wind-blown deposits, has left deep layers of rubble, slate and other materials on the tower wall walks, inside the corner turrets, in fireplaces and stair heads, and on the floor of an upper hall, one level down from the collapsed garret floor. All these deposits needed to be recorded archaeologically, and removed to allow recording and consolidation of the masonry.

The upper-level work is now done, but there is still a large fireplace to clear, and the deposits on the hall floor need to be trial-trenched and then probably removed. Some of this work will continue early in the new year.

This project has presented some interesting challenges of access and logistics, complicated by the exposed location of the work.

The present phase of works was largely confined within fairly recent deposits related to reclamation and demolition, and the insertion of 19th and 20th-century services. The interesting exception was the junction of Nethergate and Marketgait, where an earlier gravel road surface may survive just 0.5m below the present road.

The preservation of archaeological remains in Dundee can vary greatly over short distances. Extensive developments are planned in adjacent areas of the Dundee Waterfront, and the level of archaeological response will need to be tailored to each component of the works, and adjusted in the light of emerging results.

Following a site evaluation by AOC Archaeology Ltd in advance of a proposed new house SUAT were commissioned to carry out a small excavation to define and investigate an undated stone spread. This follow-on work has revealed the remains of a substantial stone wall foundation that is at odds with the plot layout of Abernethy and may relate to the early monastery.

The location was considered to be archaeologically sensitive due to its close proximity to the sites of a ‘Culdee’ monastery and later Augustinian priory founded in 1272.

The watching brief revealed garden soil up to a depth of 0.80m over subsoil/hillwash, over natural sand. The garden soil contained abundant 19th century pottery sherds. Two soakaway pits also contained pottery sherds indicating a 19th century date. The subsoil/hillwash contained no finds. It was concluded that the site had originally been partly terraced into the side of ground sloping down from the area of the ‘Culdee’ monastery when the site was developed in the 19th century.

The site was considered to be archaeologically sensitive due to the close proximity of a number of prehistoric monuments, including a cursus monument (Scheduled Ancient Monument 9135).

The evaluation revealed parts of the W edge or ditch along the projected line of the cursus monument, and two groups of post-holes. Further work is scheduled on this site.

The area was considered to be archaeologically sensitive because of its close proximity to a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 7614) representing the remains of prehistoric settlement.

Twenty evaluation trenches were excavated and recorded. The evaluation produced no conclusive evidence of prehistoric activity or any other relevant archaeology. One cut feature contained a fill of silt and peat but could not be dated and may well have been a natural anomaly. The evaluation established that the relatively low lying development area contained geological features and deposits relating to post glacial activity. These features were in the form of silted channels, a deposit of peat with preserved wood, deposits of layered gravels and sands, thin peat layers and an earlier gravel bank to the nearby Dry Burn watercourse.

The area was considered to be archaeologically sensitive because it included a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 7614) representing the remains of prehistoric settlement.

Sixty-four 40m long evaluation trenches were excavated and recorded. In addition, three smaller trenches were opened in the area around Trench 26 to trace the line of features. The evaluation produced significant archaeological evidence in the form a large enclosure ditch located to the SE of the scheduled area. A single sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from the upper backfill of this ditch, but its position high in the stratigraphy renders a date based on this find alone quite suspect. The feature could easily belong to the prehistoric period which is the preferred interpretation of the scheduled cropmark site. A number of features were also identified in the NW corner of the development area. Discoveries in this area comprised a line of post-holes, a hearth and several other potentially prehistoric features. Further work is scheduled on this site.

Watching brief within the former Perth City Hall

The City Hall lies within the core of the medieval burgh, just to the west of the former graveyard of St John’s Kirk. The watching brief monitored three test pits and two boreholes made through the floor of the main hall and four test pits made through the concrete floor of the basement. The boreholes revealed archaeology extending down to at least 5m below the floor level of the main hall. In the basement, one test pit revealed archaeological deposits just below makeup for the concrete floor, but other test pits had hit modern brickwork below the concrete floor. In addition water had flooded the bottoms of these pits making positive identification of deposits difficult.

The results of the watching brief will inform the requirement for necessary archaeological work during the development.

Assessment on the site of proposed hydro-electric scheme in Ardtalnaig Glen, Perth and Kinross

The location of the proposed scheme is on the south side of the Ardtalnaig Burn from near Tullichglass (NGR NN 723 384) to near the outflow into Loch Tay (NGR NN 697 391) with a branch extending southwards up the east side of the Allt a’ Chloidh as far as NGR NN 713 379. The work has identified a number of previously unknown settlements on the south side of Ardtalnaig Glen. Boundary walls and limekilns have also been recorded, and these features add to the picture of significant pre-modern settlement within the development area. Evidence of the precursor to modern farms has also been forthcoming at Achomer indicating that not all these early settlements were removed in the clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The walkover allowed a survey of existing sites on the route to be made including a post-medieval farming township and also led to the identification of one significant new post-medieval enclosure site. Sites such as these provide valuable evidence of settlement and agricultural practices from the centuries immediately preceding the agricultural revolution.

The proposed route of the pipeline took in three mountain streams, the Allt a’ Choire Uidhre, Allt a’ Mhuic and Allt Ghallabhaich, that fed into Innerwick Burn, itself a tributary of the River Lyon on the north side of Glen Lyon. Allt a’ Choire Uidhre fed from Creag an Fhaoraich to the west of the Burn, Allt a’ Mhuic from Lairig a’ Mhuic to the northwest and Allt Ghallabhaich from Lairig Ghallabhaich to the north, all three forming a confluence at the north end of the valley to the northwest of Innerwick House (NGR NN 58817 47366). Sites of archaeological interest identified included shielings, a track, the remains of a stone bridge and Innerwick Church.

Assessment on the site of proposed hydro-electric scheme at Inverinain in Glen Lyon, Perth and Kinross

The walkover survey identified several new shieling sites in the Inverinain Burn area, on small areas of flat ground in what is predominantly very steeply sloping terrain. These small and isolated structures should be easy to avoid during the construction of the pipeline. Near the outflow, the proposed course of the pipe crosses an old sheepfold. This feature has been used in recent times given the good state of repair of the walls and the modern wooden gateposts attached to the stone walls. While not in itself of considerable importance the possibility exists that the sheepfold was built over remains of earlier settlement. Traces of earlier settlement seem to be surprisingly absent from the Inverinain area, making the sheepfold site next to the burn more interesting. This possibility necessitates monitoring of any pipeline construction across the sheepfold. A rapid survey of the old shielings near the intake on the Allt Coire Thaochaidh tributary identified a more complex arrangement of structures than is recorded on the OS map.

The southern end of the pipeline passes alongside the Scheduled Ancient Monument of the former industrial township of Invervar and adjacent features associated with the township. Also, for much of its route the pipeline follows an existing improved track from the township to the old shielings (see illustration below) which lie beyond the northern end of the pipeline. The Invervar Burn was formerly the source for two previous water or hydro schemes.

Desk-Based Assessment and Walkover Survey, Feddinch Mains, near St Andrews The site was mostly greenfield, with 98 hectares of agricultural land surrounding a cluster of disused farm buildings lying 2km south of St Andrews.

Sites included a B-listed farmhouse and adjacent steading, a former railway line and station, quarries, an old road line, a possible building platform and two cropmarks, one possibly indicating an enclosure.

This gap site on the High Street surprisingly produced little evidence for occupation on this frontage at any time in the recent past despite a considerable soil build up. A return visit to monitor engineers’ test pits on part of the site is required.

The development area was a moorland site comprising Cringate Law and Hart Hill in the Campsie Fells, approximately 9km due south-west of Stirling. The requirement was to monitor intensively the first phase of excavation of the access road, since the route passed through a concentration of archaeological sites; thereafter, monitoring was in the form of weekly or bi-weekly visits to inspect progress.

An area of rig and furrow, several instances of birch timber beneath deep peat deposits, a dump of field clearance boulders, and two drystone dykes were encountered during the watching brief. The remains of a small cairn were also noted at NS 68692 89104, and preserved in situ, but may have been previously noted during an earlier survey.

The location of the proposed scheme is the hillside on the west side of the Allt Essan, from the 365m contour (NGR NN 723 384) to the River Dochart (NGR NN 435 274). The upper two-thirds of the pipeline route stretched across a rugged, trackless (except for sheep-trails) and fairly boggy moorland plateau utilised principally for rough sheep pasture, although the presence of red deer was also noted during the survey. Descending steeply down a rocky slope from this plateau, the route then passed through an area of dense forestry plantation on the lower slopes of Creag Iubhair, crossed the road to the south of this, and finally terminated on the River Dochart amid marshy cattle pasture and deciduous woodland. A bloomery mound and a drystone dyke were noted in the vicinity of the works.

The proposed pipeline route traversed rugged moorland, largely utilised as rough sheep and red deer pasture, running on a generally northeast to southwest alignment from the 380 metre contour (NGR NN 389 284) through a narrow valley containing the Inverhaggernie Burn, down a steep and rocky hillside, crossing and re-crossing a rough track through dense bracken to pass beneath a railway viaduct and end on the burn, just to the southwest of a humpbacked stone bridge (2) at Inverhaggernie (NGR NN 373 268).

Sites of archaeological interest included shielings, sheepfolds, the site of the former settlement of Inverhaggernie-beg, and the farmhouse of Inverhaggernie.

The power lines were to be almost entirely rebuilt, and were known to cross a landscape of considerable archaeological sensitivity; in this context it was expected that the proposed works might pose a danger to known archaeological sites. The requirement was to walk the entire route, locate and describe all known archaeological sites in proximity to the route, as well as any previously undescribed sites or features, and assess the level of threat posed to the survival of archaeological remains by the proposed works. A handheld GPS was used to locate features.

Five previously unrecorded sites were encountered during the course of the walkover, as well as numerous features of known sites that had not hitherto been described.