Edderton, Craigroy

NH 7098 8501 Building recording was undertaken, 17–21 January 2008, on a 2132m2 site prior to development. Seven trial trenches, were excavated over 328m2, 15.4% of the site. Clearance of scrub revealed the footprint of structure 1 and evidence of extensive wall collapse. The structure (NH78NW 63) is shown as a roofed building on the 1st Edition OS 6 inch map of 1881 and appears on subsequent 1907, 1959 and 1969 maps. A digital and photographic record of the building was produced.

The remains are aligned WSW/ENE and consist of a rectangular building measuring 14.9m in length and 4.4 and 5.3m wide at the WSW and ENE ends respectively. The building contains two compartments. The wall remains, where evident, are composed of unmortared, undressed boulders and are no more than two courses thick, 0.6 – 0.76m. The ground surface of each of the compartments is covered in thick vegetation and wall collapse is spread throughout.

The footings and some upstanding remains are only evident on three faces. The ENE end wall appears to have

collapsed and to have been robbed out. The internal dividing wall, which constitutes the remains of the end wall of the first compartment, remains relatively intact to a height of up to 0.7m. There is one notable entry position in the SSE wall of Compartment 1, measuring c1.1m wide. The dividing wall, formerly the ENE end wall of Compartment 1, occurs at 9.7m. It is 5.1m long and has a thickness of 0.75m.

The second compartment appears as a later addition to the building on the 2nd Edition OS map of 1907 and may

represent a byre extension. By the early 20th century the original building is depicted as unroofed, while the extension appears as roofed, suggesting that the structure was used as a byre after it had fallen into disuse as a dwelling.

Archive: Highland Archaeology Services Ltd

Funder: Northmuir Ltd

Cait McCullagh (Highland Archaeology Services Ltd), 2008