EHG164 - Field survey - Durness peninsula

A field survey of the Durness peninsula was undertaken by students from the University of Glasgow directed by R.W.K. Scott, G. David and A Aitken in 1966. It was undertaken in order to study the correlation between sites of the Neolithic period, Bronze and Iron Ages and the physical background in the Durness Peninsula. The area covered by the survey first came to the notice of the project directors during the excavation of a souterrain in 1964 and 1965. In the course of examining Durness Parish for comparative material two facts became apparent. First, there appeared to be a number of hitherto unrecorded ancient monuments. Second, the parish could be divided into well-defined, contrasting geological regions. On account of the combination of these two factors it was decided to attempt an archaeological survey of the Durness Peninsula, treating it as a pilot area on the basis of which, if successful, other areas in the northwest Highlands of Scotland might be investigated. It was possible to begin compiling the distribution map before field work commenced. Archaeological bibliographies yielded a small amount of information and the Archaeological Division of the Ordnance Survey in Edinburgh allowed the use of their card index. A party of the writers undertook the field work, which was completed in a period of two weeks in July 1966. Basic information was plotted directly on Ordnance Survey 6-inch sheets by field parties separately responsible for the archaeology or geology of a given section. In practice this resulted in any section of the total area being visited at least twice. A certain degree of overlapping of sections was intentionally introduced to give some check on the accuracy of the field work. The maps were, therefore, as complete as possible. They show monuments of apparent Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age date plotted alongside a background of solid geology and superficial deposits. <1>