John O'Groats House Hotel Trial Trenching and Geophysical Survey
Date 1994
Event ID 1167108
Category Project
Type Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1167108
GUARD was commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation of the area immediately surrounding the John O' Groats Hotel prior to a proposed extension scheme.
Geophysical survey was followed by trial trenching. This involved surveying the area with electrical resistivity and a fluxgate gradiometer. The results were treated in the field with the convendonal dot-density package GEOPLOT. A number of anomalies were detected, and the ensuing test-pitting programme set out to investigate these. The test-pits were also located on the S side of the proposed development area to see whether archaeological features seen in the development of the HIDB industrial unit extended this far N (S T Driscoll 1993).
The anomalies investigated proved to be non-archaeological, being either artificial (i e pipes), or geologically derived. The backgarden area appears to have been landscaped, probably at the time of the building of the Hotel.
Pit 2 contained some large unshaped stones and boulders, but no finds or evidence of structures was found. The geophysical data also produced no evidence for a stone built structure. This pit was the nearest to the hotel, and the large stones may be associated with clearance work during the construction of the hotel.
There are no apparent archaeological structures within the area of the proposed extension scheme of the John O' Groats Hotel.
H James 1994; NMRS, MSS 725/48 and 725/94.
An archaeological evaluation of the area immediately surrounding the hotel was carried out by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division ahead of a proposed scheme of extension. The evaluation consisted of resistivity and geomagnetic surveys, followed by trial trenching.
Although geophysical anomalies were detected, these proved to be caused by modern pipes. A stone feature examined during the trial excavations was interpreted as probably associated with clearance work during the construction of the hotel.
The assessment concluded that there were no apparent archaeological structures within the area of the proposed scheme.
NMRS, MS/725/48, GUARD 27 (1994)
