Description

The monument comprises a souterrain, or underground storage place, of probable late prehistoric date, and the surrounding remains of a farming township deserted since the Clearances in the mid nineteenth century. The souterrain is already scheduled, but this scheduling extends protection to the surrounding settlement.

The souterrain lies within and below the remains of a long, rectangular, post-medieval building, which may itself overlie remains of a building of earlier date. The entrance is now almost blocked, but the souterrain is recorded as about 15.5m long, 0.9m wide and a maximum of 1.1m high, roofed with flagstones.

A post-medieval kiln stands just to the NE of the souterrain, and was probably associated with the elongated rectangular house foundation overlying it. A possible barn stands nearby to the SW. On the slopes to the NW, about 100m away, stands a complex of structures including at least 3 long houses, 3 barns or sheds, and a sheepfold. Traces of yards and enclosures surround these buildings, and a substantial drystone dyke which formerly enclosed arable fields associated with the township land runs NNE and SSW from this complex. At several points it appears that the bulding remains presently visible are overlying earlier structures, probably of similar function.

The area now to be scheduled includes the souterrain, all of the buildings and walls mentioned above and an area around and among them in which evidence relating to their construction, occupation and use is likely to survive. It measures a maximum of 350m N-S by 280m E-W, is defined on the E by the W bank of the Strathy Burn, and is marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation

Source: Historic Environment Scotland