Description

The monument consists of a large group of shielings with a nearby standing stone.

The shielings occupy a grassy area on the N shore of Loch na Buail'Iochdraich. There are at least 19 shielings, all oval in plan with none exceeding 3.5m by 2.0m internally. Each sits on top of a small mound, and in some cases these mounds have coalesced. A single standing stone, 1m high, is sited 10m N from the NE corner of the loch.

The area to be scheduled is irregular, bounded on the W by a small stream and on the S by the shore of the loch, and contains the standing stone and all of the shielings, plus an area around them in which evidence relating to their construction and use may survive. It has maximum dimensions of 280m E-W by 150m N-S, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a very fine example of an isolated group of shielings, a characteristic monument of the N and W seaboard of Scotland. The monument has the potential, through excavation and analysis, to provide valuable information about the development of transhumance as an element in marginal agriculture and also about the physical structures and material culture associated with this little-studied phenomenon.

The associated standing stone is of a category normally assigned to the prehistoric period, and may indicate earlier use of the area, although it could equally well be of more recent date. This may be capable of being ascertained by excavation, adding to our knowledge of the range of dates of such simple monuments.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NF 86 NW 9.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland