Site Event/Activity record EHG4017 - LiDAR survey - Baillie Hill and Cnoc Freiceadain, Caithness

In mitigation for the visual impact on the archaeological landscape surrounding a windfarm development at Baillie Hill, Caithness, a high resolution LiDAR survey was undertaken in the summer of 2011 for AOC Archaeology Group. The survey area comprised an area of 85 km² , including the Core Area surrounding Baillie Hill and Cnoc Freiceadain and incorporating both upland, unimproved peatland and lowland arable and pasture. As might be expected, the most sensitive upstanding sites were, for the most part, located in the upland areas, although several large broch settlements and chambered cairns were also to be found in lowland improved zones. Several areas within the surveyed zone were afforested with modern conifer plantation; these were also covered by the LiDAR survey and a bare earth model produced. The resulting datasets provided a detailed record of the landscape prior to construction of the windfarm, and form an invaluable enhancement of the archaeological record. As a result of basic analysis of the resulting datasets over 300 possible sites, previously unlisted in the Highland Council Historic Environment Record, were recorded. This number can be expected to rise following more detailed analysis. <1>