Excavation

Click on the links to see the results of the two seasons of excavation Excavation 2007 Excavation 2008

The Back Beach, an area of links where many of Brora’s early industrial activities were located, lies to the south west of the Brora river, from which it is separated by the early nineteenth century fishertown of Lower Brora. Much of the northern half of the area is laid out as a golf course, known as Gleneagles, within which the remains of a WWII radio station form a prominent feature. The archaeological sites are concentrated to the south west of this, where the links begin to narrow. The shoreline itself is very undulating, with the eroding buildings, which form the focus of this project, situated at the highest points, close to an area of cleared beach known as Port a’ Gheamhraidh or the Winter Port.  

A map of the Back Beach, compiled in 1813 by the mineral surveyor, John Farey, suggests that the buildings which can now be seen eroding out of the dunes can be related to the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Salt House. The Old Salt House, which dates back to the turn of the seventeenth century, was already ‘washed and covered by the waves of every Spring Tide’ in 1813, while the lack of detail given for the New Salt House, which had gone out of use in 1777, suggests that it had been overwhelmed by sand. An estate map, dated 1772, by John Kirk depicts the ‘New’ salt works when in operation, rectifying the lack of information shown by Farey. Kirk shows four roofed buildings, including a long structure which is annotated as 'Salt Pans' and another which can be equated with the ‘Saltman’s House’ named by Farey.  

The re-appearance of a wall in spring 2006 in the area of the ‘New’ salt works graphically illustrated the instability of the dunes along the edge of the Back Beach, while it also suggested that active erosion was increasing. These concerns led to the development of an excavation strategy which sought to ensure the preservation ‘by record’ of those sites which are actively eroding.

Extract from John Kirk’s Plan of Inverbrora Farm, 1772. Dep.313/3581. Courtesy of The Trustees of the National Library of Scotland

Extract from John Farey’s map of the Inverbrora coal workings, 1813. Dep.314/17. Courtesy of The Trustees of the National Library of Scotland