Rhilean Burn

NH 9435 3840 – NH 8685 3490 A walkover survey was conducted 22–29 January 2009 as part of an environmental assessment for a possible access route to a proposed wind farm. Thirty-three structures were identified and recorded, most of which were within three post-medieval rural settlements in the Rhilean Burn valley. The previous RCAHMS, HHER and OS records of these settlements were found to be inaccurate.

NH 912 387 Rhibanchor The settlement lies above a river valley and adjacent to a modern road. Rhibanchor is

shown on the 1st Edition OS 1:10560 map as three unroofed structures (or open pens) and is annotated as being ‘in ruins’. It does not appear on the present day 1:25000 OS map and is recorded by name only, Rhilean Burn, on the HHER. It is on a moraine terrace c10m above the river and may have existed before the 1829 flood and survived, or have replaced earlier buildings in the haugh that were destroyed by the flood. The farms of Banchor and Little Banchor are in the Findhorn valley less than 2km N of Rhibanchor and it is probable that

Rhibanchor was first used as a summer shieling attached to the farm of Banchor.

There are at least five dry stone building structures and one dry stone enclosure wall. One of the structures sits detached and four are semi-detached in pairs. The present track runs on the N side of the township, so close that a corner of one building, the end wall of another building and one wall of the pen have been truncated.

Two sub-circular structures, possibly shielings, lay 40m E of the settlement surrounded by evidence of earlier land use. On the haugh below the settlement terrace there is a ‘D’-shaped, flat-topped moraine mound 15m wide with a substantial turf and stone-built pen attached to its eastern end, retained by dry stone walling.

Archive: RCAHMS. Report: HHER and Library Service

Funder: Savills Ltd

Mary Peteranna and John Wombell – Highland Archaeology Services Ltd

Headland Archaeology was commissioned by Infinergy to undertake a programme of archaeological works at Tom nan Clach Windfarm in support of concurrent applications to vary and repower the existing consented wind farm.

This report presents the results of the archaeological mitigation undertaken in November and December 2015 in conjunction with the first phase of pre-construction geotechnical site investigations.

Avoidance of known assets was achieved by submission of their location co-ordinates, a toolbox talk and guidelines document to the ground contractor and marking-out Sites 45, 65, 78, 83 and 123.

To mitigate impacts to unknown assets, archaeological monitoring of geotechnical investigations was undertaken in close proximity to Sites 45/83 and 65/78. No new features of archaeological significance were identified during the work.

Funder: Infinergy

Headland Archaeology Ltd

Headland Archaeology was commissioned by Infinergy Ltd to undertake a programme of archaeological works at Tom Nan Clach Windfarm in support of concurrent applications to vary and repower the existing consented wind farm.

The work was carried out between September 2016 and May 1017 in conjunction with the construction of the access road. The archaeological monitoring was focussed on areas in close proximity to Sites 45/83 near the crossing of the Rhilean Burn and Sites 65/78 at Rhibanchor some 3km to the north-east.

Two archaeological features were identified during the work; a rectangular structure at the outskirts of the settlement at Site 65, and a linear feature – possibly an old track on the north-west side of Rhilean Burn.

Information from Headland Archaeology Ltd.