During a recent "Open" weekend at Castle Leod in Strathpeffer, RoCAS and WCAS archaeologists worked alongside experienced NOSAS members to excavate a series of evaluation trenches on the castle motte. Castle Leod, a Listed Building (A) believed to pre-date the early 17th century, is the family home of the Chief of the Clan Mackenzie, the present Earl of Cromartie.

The first documentary evidence for the castle tower is a reference to its construction by Sir Rory Mackenzie, the Tutor of Kintail, in the early 1600s. However, the castle location, next to Cnoc Aulaidh (Olaf's Hill) and northeast of Ulladale (Olaf's Dale), has been associated with the Viking period. 

The purpose of our fieldwork was to evaluate the potential for archaeological material below and around the castle site. The results were intriguing, with a trench excavated on the southwest side of the castle revealing boulder courses of the tower's substantial foundation built on a cobbled surface. In another trench situated on the southwest side of the base of the motte, stratified archaeological material was identified to a depth of well over 1m. Within these layers, a substantial gravel/stone-filled ditch containing mortar and animal bone was partially uncovered, while a deep, charcoal-flecked layer contained animal bone and one struck flint flake.

The evaluation was organised on behalf of the Clan Mackenzie Charitable Trust, who hope to develop community facilities, heritage events and archaeological excavation in the future.