Monument record MHG55858 - Post-medieval house - near Inverness Airport, Petty

The remains of a probably post-medieval croft house near Dalcross Airport were seen during a walkover survey in advance of a proposed new access road to the airport by Wordsworth Archaeological Services in 1996. The clay-bonded stone wall remains lay some 55m from the southeast corner of the plantation at the north end of the proposed road line. The walls survived up to 0.6m high and were 0.7m, wide. It was L-shaped with its long axis east-west. Its full length was unclear as it was badly eroded though it may have been about 16m long. It measured 9m long by 4m wide. It was noted that the whole area was badly rabbited and overgrown with scrub. It lay outside the line of the proposed access road. <1>

This building was noted again during a subsequent DBA and walkover survey carried out by SUAT in 2002 for a slightly realigned airport access road scheme as being one of a row of five crofts seen on historic maps dating from bertween 1760 and 1842. During the walkover survey it was seen that the area of the crofts lay partly in an area of set-aside containing long grass in a barley field and partly in the adjacent Scots Pine woodland. Nothing could be seen in the area of long grass although there may have been a slight increase in stonioness underfoot. Nothing could be seen in the woodland due to dense understorey vegetation. It was recommended that this part of the proposed road line should be evaluated. <2>

An evaluation of the site of the crofts was carried out by SUAT in 2004 in advance of the construction of the proposed access road. The site of the crofts lay partly in forestry and partly in an adjacent field. Two trenches excavated in the field failed to find evidence of the crofts (see also MHG55859). In the wooded area the site of the previously recorded croft was also investigated. Eight small sondages revealed walls, a cobbled floor, and 19th-century pottery and window glass. After clearing bracken around the site no further remains of the row of crofts was found within the wood. It was stated that a further watching brief would be carried out during soil stripping and ground preparation for the access road. <3>

<1> Wordsworth, J., 1996, An Archaeological Survey of the Proposed New Access Road for Dalcross Airport (Text/Report/Fieldwork Report). SHG21082.

<2> Perry, D., 2002, Desk-based Assessment and Walkover Survey of a proposed access road at Inverness Airport (Text/Report/Fieldwork Report). SHG22600.

<3> Cachart, R., 2004, Archaeological Evaluation: Inverness Airport Access Road, Inverness (Text/Report/Fieldwork Report). SHG22216.