Description

The monument comprises of the remains of two hut circles, visible as upstanding walls located on Essich Moor. The hut circles are likely to be Late Bronze Age or Iron Age, dating to the first or second millennium BC. They lie on a low ridge, at 210-15m OD, 1030m SSE of Achvraid.

The W hut circle measures around 10m in diameter, including walls spread to 2m thick and measuring up to 0.3m in height. The S arc includes some outer facing stones and a natural boulder. The E hut circle measures 14m in diameter, including banks 1.5 m wide; tractor marks cross it. Both have entrances in the eastern arc.

The area to be scheduled comprises two circles on plan, each centred on a hut circle, to include the remains described and an area around in which evidence for their construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling excludes the above-ground elements of the stob and wire fence that crosses the W hut circle, to allow for its maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

The monument's archaeological significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics: The monument is a well-preserved example of two later prehistoric roundhouses with upstanding remains dating to the first or second millennium BC. Given the site's current use as pasture, it is likely that archaeologically significant deposits relating to the construction, use and abandonment of the structures remain in situ. In addition, it is likely that deposits survive that could provide data relating to the later prehistoric environment.

The site has considerable potential to enhance understanding of later prehistoric roundhouses and the daily lives of the people who occupied them.

Contextual characteristics: The monument is a good representative of a once common class. Several other hut circle sites lie within 1km of this monument, and together these elements have the potential to provide a better understanding of how later prehistoric society was structured.

National Importance: The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular Bronze or Iron Age society and the nature of later prehistoric domestic practice. Its good preservation and the survival of marked field characteristics enhance this potential. The loss of the example would significantly impede our ability to understand later prehistory in northern Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the monument as NH63NW17.

Photographs:

C26237 1994 Achvraid: hut-circles; field -system; cord rig; rig; lade.

C26237 1994 Achvraid: hut-circles; field -system; cord rig; rig; lade.

C26239 1994 Achvraid: hut-circles; field -system; cord rig; rig; lade.

C26240 1994 Achvraid: hut-circles; field -system; cord rig; rig; lade.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland