EHG5940 - Watching brief - housing development, Chapelton Farm, Balloch

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by AOC Archaeology Group in 2022 during enabling works at Chapelton Farm, Balloch, Inverness in advance of the construction of new housing and installation of associated infrastructure. The watching brief was required due to the presence of archaeological features identified during an archaeological trench evaluation (see EHG5894). Fieldwork was carried out intermittently between 21st June and 3rd October 2022 on the western portion of the development area. A total of 32 features were identified including a roundhouse, pit alignment, and isolated firepits. As further archaeological features were likely to survive within the un-stripped portions of the development area (the eastern portion), it was recommended that any additional groundbreaking works be subject to an archaeological watching brief. <1> A watching brief was subsequently carried out on the eastern area in 2023 (see EHG6243). For the small assemblage of archaeological material recovered from the site, a programme of post-excavation analysis, including radiocarbon dating, was subsequently undertaken for the two areas of trial trenching and the western watching brief area. This returned dates ranging from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval periods. <2>