EHG5244 - Research excavation - hut circle Srathain, Lochbroom

An excavation comprising two trenches, was carried out on a hut circle at Srathain in 2012 as part of the WeDigs project led by A Welti. Trench 1 was excavated in the centre of the hut circle and revealed a shallow and very greasy black horizon lying immediately below peaty turf and resting on the natural clay. There were no features, other than a small arc of stones, and no finds. Trench 2, excavated across across what appeared to be a collapsed wall, but proved to be a random pile of stones which overlay and so postdated the greasy black context. A random collection of flat slabs lay at the western end of the trench. White quartz pebbles were found in the black horizon. Two further trenches (3 and 4) for soil profiles were excavated 10m to the SW and 15m to the W. The soil profiles in these almost exactly matched that of Trench 1 with a shallow, greasy, black horizon lying immediately below the turf and directly on the natural. At the same time a fifth trench was excavated across a second platform identified some 100m to the north. The trench was excavated from just outwith the base of the revettment as far as the centre. The results were similar to the excavation of the first platform/hut circle although no dating materal was obtained. <1> Environmental and finds analysis were carried out by AOC Archaeology Group. <2> Additional soil samples analysis. <3> Radio-carbon dating of samples from this hut circle was carried out by SUERC. <4> A shorter published summary of the WeDigs project, including the archaeological trenching at this hut circle was also produced. <5>