Watching Brief

Date 4 September 2000 - 7 September 2000

Event ID 1030209

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1030209

Kirkdale Archaeology were asked to monitor the digging of a water main trench at Hackness gun battery, on the island of Hoy, Orkney. The trench was dug over two days, mostly by machine, partly by hand, and ran from the battery (ND 337 915) to the Martello Tower (ND 338 913), a distance of some 110m.

No features were found outside the Martello Tower, except for the hard-core around the gateways, which is apparently of recent origin. The proximity of bedrock indicates that the tower was, unsurprisingly, built on solid foundations. The layer of sand got progressively thinner as the trench progressed to the SE, and uphill, which would correspond with this being a wind blown sand deposit, decreasing with distance from the sea. The small scatter of china in the field to the N of the track probably represents low intensity agricultural practices, with the brick built drain also serving an agricultural function. Two features in the field relate to the gun battery, the lightning conductor, and the drain immediately outside the battery wall, which may well replace an original drain. Inside the battery the layer of mortar and stone probably represents construction or demolition debris, the clay and stones below this may represent either natural subsoil, or, more likely, a redeposited dump, used as a level building platform.

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

G Ewart and D Murray 2000

Kirkdale Archaeology