Prehistoric settlement uncovered during work on new Highland prison

The excavation team from AOC Archaeology Group worked alongside contractors from UBCivils and Balfour Beatty to ensure careful excavation of extensive buried remains, and the story of that is now available online on AOC’s interactive website.

The website allows interaction with digital imagery of key artefacts as well as a reconstruction of the prehistoric site. It also includes results and images from the excavation, placing it in the broader archaeological landscape of Inverness.

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A wide variety of prehistoric remains were uncovered during the dig, including hearth and cooking pits midden pits, enclosure ditches, and postholes from at least 16 roundhouses and other timber shelters dating to the Iron Age and late Bronze Age occupations.

Other prehistoric artefacts including metal objects and stone tools were also found while some areas of the site related to even earlier Neolithic period activity.

The roundhouses survived as circular alignments of postholes, where timber posts once supported substantial buildings and defined key areas of the settlement, with two large ditches containing palisade fences that would have protected important roundhouse sites.

Artefacts were discovered at the site (Image: Handout)

Extensive iron-working activities were found within the settlement with large amounts of charcoal and burnt bone spread across the area. Clay moulds and copper-alloy fragments indicating specialist castings were also found, including one which was used for a late Bronze Age leaf-shaped sword, which is a rare find in northern Scottish contexts.

Part of the settlement was previously excavated in the late 1990s with two rare Roman brooches found, pointing to the HMP Highland site being a local power centre with inhabitants of elite status.

AOC’s Mary Peteranna said: “An excavation like this is a real team effort. We worked closely with the contractors to ensure construction progressed while the archaeologists worked. The collaboration was made possible by the support of Scottish Prison Service.

“They facilitated the process of safeguarding the archaeology on the site and have been fully supportive of presentation of the results so that it is available for the public. This is a truly important part of the cultural heritage of Inverness.”

There has been extensive archaeological work carried out around Inverness over the past two decades with the new HMP Highland site in Inverness sitting within that. Nationally significant material has previously been found spanning several millennia including at developments of the UHI campus, extensive housing developments such as Culdulthel and Slackbuie and the new West Link Road and golf course at Torvean.

Lorraine Roughan, SPS Project Executive for HMP Highland, said: “We were delighted to hear of the significant archaeological discovery made by the team from AOC Archaeology Group, at the site of the new HMP Highland.

“This discovery encapsulates the importance of the site to the community of Inverness, both historically and in the present day.

“The construction of HMP Highland has so far seen the creation of new jobs and apprenticeships for the local area, and we look forward to maintaining this community focus with more to come in future.

“HMP Highland will allow us to better serve local communities, meet the needs of people in our care, and support our staff. Enhanced security, greater digital capability, modern living spaces, and a new Community Connections hub with an improved visits area, will enhance dignity and decency for all.”