GUARD Archaeology is one of the most prominent commercial archaeology companies in the UK, undertaking excavation, research and consultancy, primarily in advance of development work.
The professional archaeologists at GUARD are committed to communicating the results of their archaeological fieldwork and specialist analyses to as wide an audience as possible. In order to address the increasing demand for an accessible resource and platform for sharing their results, GUARD established the online archaeological journal, Archaeology Reports Online, in 2013.
Below you will find seven Archaeology Reports Online which GUARD has kindly made available to share on the ScARF website. These reports are relevant to the Highlands, illustrating the important archaeological work being done across this significant region of Scotland. They are all free to read and download as PDF files.
Click the images or links below to download the ARO PDFs.
ARO2: In the Shadow of Dun da Lamh: An Archaeological Evaluation near Spey Dam, Laggan
By Alan Hunter Blair & Susan Ramsay
An archaeological evaluation of a site compound area in advance of development at Spey Dam near Laggan, was undertaken by GUARD Archaeology due to the proximity of archaeological remains such as the site of St Michael’s Chapel and the deserted township of Crathie.
ARO5: Spinning the yarn: a cist at Keas Cottage, Spinningdale
By Iraia Arabaolaza with Beverley Ballin Smith, Ann Clarke, Susan Ramsay and Penelope Walton Rogers
A short cist was accidentally discovered in September 2011 during the construction of a septic tank at Keas Cottage, Spinningdale, Sutherland. The cist, built within a substantial pit, contained the remains of a crouched inhumation of a middle-aged adult female (35-50 years) with signs of spinal joint disease.
ARO8: A Highland Funeral: Portrait of an Early Bronze Age Beaker Burial at West Torbreck, south-west Inverness
By Maureen C. Kilpatrick with contributions by Torben Ballin, Beverley Ballin Smith and Susan Ramsay
In March 2012 GUARD Archaeology Ltd conducted a rescue excavation, under the terms of Historic Scotland’s Human Remains Call-Off Contract, when a cist was discovered during landscaping works in West Torbreck, south-west Inverness.
ARO20: Activities in the woods: platforms and a lithic scatter, Loch Doilean, Sunart, Lochaber
by Clare Ellis with Torben Bjarke Ballin and Susan Ramsay
Analysis of finds from a series of presumed charcoal burning platforms and a lithic scatter at the western end of Loch Doilean in Lochaber in Argyll revealed new evidence for activities during the Mesolithic, Iron Age, Medieval and post-medieval periods on the west coast of Scotland.
ARO23: Excavation and Survey at Comar Wood Dun, Cannich, Strathglass, Inverness-shire
Mary Peteranna and Steven Birch with contributions by Beverley Ballin Smith, Catherine Smith, Susan Ramsay
Archaeological survey and evaluation were carried out in 2013 on a dun discovered earlier in woodland, which was built during the second half of the first millennium BC. Its history is complicated by two successive hearths, the evidence for internal wooden structures, two burning events and rebuilding before it was abandoned.
ARO37: Wilkhouse: An Archaeological Innvestigation
By Donald Adamson and Warren Bailie with contributions from Kevin Grant, Nick Lindsay and by Donal Bateson, Natasha Ferguson, Dennis Gallacher, Robin Murdoch, Susan Ramsay, Catherine Smith and Bob Will
Archaeological and historical investigations into the droving inn at Wilkhouse, north of Brora explain the rise and decline of the building and its ancillary structures. Technological developments and ‘Improvements’ led to important changes and the demise of the inn and its associated traditions in moving cattle and people around the country.
ARO40: Achnahaird Sands by Achiltibuie, Highland
By Stuart Farrell with contributions by Torben Bjarke Ballin, Beverley Ballin Smith, Ruby Cerón-Carrasco, Ray Chadburn, Adrian Cox, Amanda Forster, Dennis Gallagher, Derek Hall, Mhairi Hastie, Nicholas Holmes, Frances Ross and Catherine Smith
Achnahaird Sands near Achiltibuie on the north-west coast of Ross-shire was excavated in 2000. Two buildings, dated to the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century with an enclosure wall, were revealed along with a pave area and a possible hearth for metalworking.
ARO50: “…a plantation of Scotch firs and forest-trees of considerable extent…”: Locating the Parks of Culloden House at the time of the Battle of Culloden
By Kevin Munro
Elements of the mid-eighteenth century designed landscape around Culloden House near Inverness, played a significant role in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Since then, many features connected to the battle had been lost. In 2018, new evidence of them was discovered by Historic Environment Scotland during work in updating the inventory of the historic battlefield.
You can find these, and many more reports from GUARD’s archaeological work across Scotland at the Archaeology Reports Online website!