Monument record MHG52954 - Old road surface/pathway(s), Queensgate and Fraser Street, Inverness

A compact clay surface with rounded gravel and cobbles embedded within it was uncovered at four locations along Queensgate and Fraser Street during water pipe laying works. The deposit is described under Features 2, 4, 8 and 9 in the watching brief report.
Feature 2 was seen to comprise two layers: an upper layer of small orange-brown gravel with some shell fragments, overlying a compact silty clay over large cobbles. Only a 2 metre portion was examined at this location, but the feature appeared to extend west and eastwards.
Feature 4, a midden scatter, overlay an earlier road/path surface comprising a compact yellow-gray clay with rounded gravel and cobbles embedded within it.
Feature 8 was a compacted surface of dark orange sand, gravel, stone and small cobbles, possibly metalled. This area was very disturbed with redundant utility pipes to the east.
Feature 9 was a compact clay surface lying above the natural yellow gravelly sand. This deposit was revealed following the removal of a layer of dressed, granite cobbles that made up the pre-tarmac road surface.

Due to the proximity and similarity of these deposits, the archaeologists suggest that they are contemporary and could conceivably have been part of a single road or path. A tentative medieval date is suggested due to the presence of a fragment of medieval pottery in Feature 1, a rubbish pit which cuts the deposit at Feature 2. It is equally possible, however, that the deposit(s) to the east of Church Street represent garden pathways behind the 18th/19th-century houses. <1>

<1> McCullagh, C, Peteranna, M and Wood, J, 09/2009, Inverness Streetscape Project Water Main Renewal: Archaeological Watching Brief - Volume 1: Text, Features 2, 4, 8 and 9 (Text/Report/Fieldwork Report). SHG24542.