EHG130 - Coastal zone survey - Kyle of Durness to Torrisdale Bay, Sutherland

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 on the north Sutherland coast between the west side of the Kyle of Durness and the west side of Torrisdale Bay. The project had been commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow. Its geographical limits were imposed by Historic Scotland and related in the west to te then eastern imits of the MOD restricted area of Cape Wrath. In the east it was to adjoin the western limits of that part of the survey programme undertaken in northern Scotland in the 1970s/80s by the University of Edinburgh along the Caithness/Sutherland coast. The distance covered was approximately 141km, but excluded an area north of the Mhoine due to health and safetly factors and did not include off-shore islands. The main aim of the survey was to document the archaeology and built heritage and to assess the impact of erosional processes upon the cultural heritage. The survey involved a visual inspection and rapid recording of a coastal strip between 50-100m wide above the high water mark and the intertidal zone below, where feasible. A total of 485 sites were recorded. The range extended from prehistoric sites to those relating to the recent past with the majority from the historical periods, especially the Post-Improvement and Modern periods. There were, however, siginificant additions to the understanding of earlier periods. <1>