Magnetometry

Date 14 March 2018 - 15 March 2018

Event ID 1106220

Category Recording

Type Magnetometry

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1106220

ND 08079 68240 A fluxgate gradiometer survey was carried out, 14 – 15 March 2018, as part of the Caithness Broch Festival, a year-long programme of heritage and archaeology projects, focusing on exploring the broch sites of Caithness.

The work aimed to complete a circuit of geophysical survey around the broch in order to establish the presence/ absence of an extra-mural settlement or any other potential archaeological remains associated with the broch. While the survey provided some indication of anthropogenic activity within the immediate vicinity of the broch, the nature of this could not be fully established, and it provided no evidence for the existence of an extra-mural settlement, as the majority of the survey area was relatively ‘quiet’. The survey also aimed to further characterise the adjacent cairn, establish its full extent and any potential relationship with the broch. The results suggested that potential associated remains identified previously to the E of the cairn, are more extensive than was understood, and also indicated that substantial structural remains may be present. No relationship to the broch was established.

Archive: NRHE

Funder: Caithness Broch Project

Linda Somerville – Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA)

(Source: DES Volume 19)