Following on from the initial evaluation, a monitored topsoil strip and archaeological excavation was begun on 5th September 2016 by a larger GUARD Archaeology team led by Alan Hunter Blair. This work, undertaken on behalf of Angus Council, was recommended by the Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service (archaeological advisers to Angus Council) after several pits containing prehistoric pottery were unearthed during the earlier evaluation.

The aim of this work is to monitor the machine-excavation of topsoil to establish the full extent of prehistoric features. Our objective is to keep excavating until we have established a 10-20 m wide archaeologically sterile buffer around the limit of any archaeological features uncovered. Only with such a buffer will we be confident that no more archaeology is present.