Watching Brief at Naver Bridge

A Watching Brief was carried out on the 27th of September 2023 by Lynne McKeggie. The weather was bright and dry. 6 trenches were opened along the proposed development route, see Figure 7. There was a slight change to the layout of the proposed trenches due to variations in plans provided by SSEN. 2 trenches were located slightly outside the agreed watching area however were watched regardless. A record of the locations of the clearance cairns has been made as well as an updated record of the presence of archaeological remains around the proposed development area. As well as the Watching Brief, an updated record of the archaeological features surrounding the proposed development was made. It was briefly mentioned in the Desk Based Assessment that surface stones may have been mistakenly recorded as a hut circle on the 1971 Ordnance survey field visit. Following this fieldwork it seems likely that the location marked for the 'possible enclosure' DBA1 is likely to be incorrect due to the steepness of slope there. However the presence of possible clearance cairn on a more gently sloping terrace was noted and the distribution of these has been recorded (DBA 2). No hut circle was identified but it is possible that this feature was hidden in vegetation.