Description

The monument comprises the remains of Cladh Langdale burial ground and possible chapel site. The monument was in use in the Early Christian period and later. It is visible as an earthwork within an enclosing wall, situated on the broad, NW bank of the River Naver in the Strathnaver steep-sided valley, at about 45m O.D..

Cladh Langdale is long-disused; it is first documented in 1769 and a burial apparently took place there at the beginning of the 19th century. A chapel at 'Langdale' or 'Langwell' is referred to in 19th-century accounts and it has been suggested that faint traces are discernible as a depression in the centre of the burial ground though there are a number of such features.

The elevated irregularly-shaped burial ground has maximum dimensions of 28m WSW-ENE by 21m NNW-SSE overall and is enclosed by a drystone revetment with square N and E corners but those at the SW end are more rounded in form. There may have been an entrance at the N corner indicated by the presence here of two flat slabs which, at one time, may have functioned as steps.

A shallow ditch surrounds the enclosure; its better definition on the SW side may suggest that the burial ground had been extended in this direction. This may be contemporaneous with the revetment and may explain the increased gradient and irregular shape of the burial ground in this locality. A number of graveslabs and header and footer stones have been identified within the enclosure.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be found. It is irregular on plan with maximum dimensions of 43m SW-NE and 23m from the north-westmost conrenr to the south-eastmost, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract. The boundaries are defined by the outside edge of the bank that encloses the burial ground.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of an Early Christian and Medieval ecclesiastical site. It is an unusual example of a substantial burial enclosure that preserves complex phases of extension. Its importance is also increased by its high archaeological potential given its early abandonment and this resource is worthy of protection given the lack of the documentary sources available.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as Cladh Langdale, NC46NE 1.

References:

Henderson I (1987) 'Early Christian monuments of Scotland displaying crosses but no other ornament'. In Small A ed. 1987, THE PICTS: A NEW LOOK AT OLD PROBLEMS, Dundee, 45-58.

Hooper J (2002) CHAPEL SITES IN CENTRAL STRATHNAVER, unpublished.

Joass J M (1965) 'Notes of various objects of antiquity in Strathnaver', PROC SOC ANTIQ SCOT 5, 357-360, 359.

Lelong O (2000) WRITING PEOPLE INTO THE LANDSCAPE: APPROACHES TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF BADENOCH AND STRATHNAVER, Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 213.

ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOK (SUTHERLAND) (1874) Original Name Books of the Ordnance Survey, Book 20, 267.

OPS (1855), ORIGINES PAROCHIALES SCOTIAE: THE ANTIQUITIES ECCLESIASTICAL AND TERRITORIAL OF THE PARISHES OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, Vol. 2, No. 2, 708.

Pope A (1774), 'OF CAITHNESS, STRATHNAVER, AND SUTHERLAND', App. V in A Pennant, Tour in Scotland 1769, Warrington, 318-346, 325.

RCAHMS (1911) SECOND REPORT AND INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS IN THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND, Edinburgh, No. 255, 87.

Romilly J and Anderson J (1903) THE EARLY CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, Vol. 2.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland