Watching Brief

Date 2005

Event ID 856054

Category Recording

Type Watching Brief

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/856054

NR89NW 165 NR 8314 9709

A watching brief and excavation was carried out here in advance of new building works, in an area adjacent to Baluachraig House, Kilmartin. The 1st and 2nd edition OS maps (1860 and 1900) of the area show Baluachraig to have been a settlement of numerous buildings and structures. Two modern buildings have been added, either side of a 19th century building. Oral testimony indicates that a number of buildings were knocked down only in recent times, with little or no trace of them now visible. Earlier settlement in the vicinity is attested to by other sources. Timothy Pont's survey of the area in the late 16th century depicts several settlement sites here, and Roy's map of c1755 shows a settlement of 6 houses and an enclosure.

The excavation revealed a 10m length of drystone wall, only one course high in most places, but with evidence of a second course in limited areas. It is not clear if the wall was part of a boundary structure or a building. Two trees had grown over the wall at one end. One was a beech tree, thought to be 80-100 years old. This would mean the structure must have been demolished or fallen out of use by the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, much of the area covered by the house footprint was covered with cobbles, which had been disturbed prior to this development. The cobbles measured typically 150mm x 150mm x 100mm and had been laid directly onto sandy subsoil in patterns characteristic of 19th-century farmsteads. A large posthole was also discovered, out of which came some 19th century artefacts, including fragments of a clay pipe and some china pottery.

J Lewis 2005