Site Event/Activity record EHG4165 - Excavation - Cromartie Memorial Car Park, Dingwall

An archaeological excavation was undertaken by OJT Heritage archaeologists and local volunteers as a part of the Dingwall THING project in 2012 at the Cromartie Memorial Car Park, Dingwall. A 20m x 2m trench was opened across the northwest side of the car park through the mechanical removal of surface tarmac and underlying aggregate. The trench was positioned to avoid areas of modern services and suspected post-medieval ground disturbance. Five phases were identified: C10th-C11th (the Thing), Medieval (Moothill), Post-Medieval (the mausoleum) and C20th (the car park). Excavations confirmed the presence of important archaeological remains and indicated that the mound was man-made and probably created during the C11th AD. Although no artefacts were recovered to suggest a Viking Age date, the radiocarbon dates provided strong scientific evidence to support the interpretation that the mound was created during the period of the late Norwegian political influence in Ross-shire and the wider northeast of Scotland. <1>