Monument record MHG28799 - Gruids Wood

NC50SE 105 5706 0297 and 5714 0293

Centred on NC 565 036 and NC 570 024 A pilot archaeological survey in advance of forestry felling was undertaken. Two compartments within Gruids Wood were studied. The enlarged 1948 RAF aerial photos showed prehistoric settlements and field systems, as well as post-medieval fermtouns, standing out clearly. The study revealed evidence of post-medieval settlement and agricultural use and the remains of a prehistoric settlement, as well as previously recorded sites and monuments.
The efficacy of such studies would seem to depend on the non-mechanised preparation of the ground before hand-planting, regular management and thinning of plantations, as well as access to good enlargements of the late 1940s aerial survey photos.
Gruids Wood SE
NC 5706 0297 Roundhouse c 10m in diameter on slight platform at bottom of hill-slope.
NC 5714 0293 Roundhouse c 12m in diameter.
A copy of the report has been lodged with the NMRS.
Sponsor: Forest Enterprise Dornoch.
J Harden 1996