Description

The monument consists of the remains of a Medieval settlement, possibly incorporating the ruins of a church, situated on a slight knoll.

The site at Gearraidh Bhailteas is known to have been cleared by 1836. It existed as a substantial township in 1498. It may have had a church in the earlier Medieval period, although this does not appear to have survived into the 15th century. The visible remains take the form of the stone lower walls and footings of some twelve sub-rectangular buildings and three enclosures, all set on a slight rise in otherwise ill-drained ground.

The sequence is hard to determine, but appears to begin with three enclosures, then two or three long, bowed-walled houses (perhaps of Norse type), followed by a possible rectangular church and two associated buildings, then two small shieling-like buildings and finally a group of "blackhouse"-type farm buildings. A number of small structures cannot be tied into even this sequence.

The area to be scheduled is a square of side 100m, oriented N-S, to include all of the remains on the knoll and an area around in which further structures and other evidence associated with the construction, devlopment and use of the monument may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a document Medieval settlement which has not been obliterated by more recent buildings, and as such has the potential to provide valuable information about the origins and development of Medieval rural settlement. If the suspected ecclesiastical elements are accepted, then it also has a considerable potential to provide information about the physical attributes of structures associated with the origin of the Medieval parochial system, spanning the period from the Lordship of the Isles to the unification with Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation

Source: Historic Environment Scotland