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MHG10379 - Township - Rubh an Daimh

Summary

A township comprising seven roofed buildings and one unroofed building is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

NC 448 653: Three longhouses, 14m by 19m long by 5m across, with associated enclosures, etc, lie on the N side of the road. Also, at NC 450 652 are two longhouses, one with an enclosure, two ovals 9m by 4m and 7m by 4m, and two rectangles 9m by 5m and 8m by 5m.
T C Welsh 1972ab.

Corrected to NC 449 652. Deserted crofting township abandoned in 18th-19th century, on W side of Rispond Bay. Landward extent delimited by a head dyke in part renovated and incorporated in the line of a later wall. There are remains of five longhouses, dimensions between 11m to 18m long by 4.5m, with accompanying enclosures and field walls.
Visited by OS (JM) 11 April 1980.

Footings of longhouse, 26m by 4m, on the N side of the road.
Visited by OS (JM) 11 April 1980

A township comprising seven roofed buildings and one unroofed building is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, sheet vi), but not one of the buildings noted by the OS and by Welsh (1972) are shown. One of the roofed buildings is part of Rispond fishing station (see NC46NE 1). Five roofed buildings are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10,560 map (1961).
Information from RCAHMS (AKK) 14 August 1995.

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow.

The following description expands on that offered in the NMRS after site visits by T C Welsh in 1972 and OS in 1980 (JM) and from cartographic sources. On a plateau at the west of Rispond Bay, south of the fishing station, are the widespread remains of a deserted township. At the SE of the township, in an area bounded on the SE by outcrop and on the NW by the slope down to the quay, there are five structures. The most easterly of these is a possible building abutted by a dry-stone enclosure. This possible building measures 15 m long NE-SW externally and is 3 m wide internally. The walls of this structure are reduced to one course and are more distinct at the NE where the end is marked by an upright stone and a large boulder. The walls at the SW are more spread and there is a concentration of rubble at the SW end. This possible building is abutted at the NW by a large dry-stone enclosure which measures 17 m NE-SW by 15 m internally. The SW and NE walls of this enclosure are fragmentary and the NW wall is marked by upright boulders 0.5 m high forming the outer face. Located 10 m to the NW are two structures at right-angles to each other. The'first structure measures 7 m SE-NW by 3 m and is very fragmentary and tumbled with a possible entrance in the NE wall. At right-angles to this, is another structure measuring 8 m N-S by 4 m and defined only by a mass of tumble. There is a 3 m by 1 m clearance cairn on top of a natural outcrop located 30 m NW of these and a further 4 m to the W is another structure. This measures 8 m N-S by 3.5 m and is defined by tumbled boulder-walls and skirted by bedrock outcrop at the NE. To the north of this structure is a 3 m by 1 m rectangular feature defined by upright boulders and 12 m west of the former is a large 5 m by 2.5 m clearance cairn. This part of the site is bounded at the west by a fragmentary boulder dyke which survives to a maximum of 0.7 m and runs NE-SW for approximately 109 m and is 18 m west of the clearance cairn.

Whilst the east part of this site was defined by outcrop at the south and the slope to the quay at the north, the west part is within dry-stone walls. Immediately W of the dyke described above is a 2.5 m by 2 m clearance cairn. The 109 m long dyke turns at the S to run NW-SE for over 180 m. At a point some 70 m along this latter dyke there are three features which abutt it. The most easterly is a 2 m by 2 m stone wall surviving to 2-3 courses which abutts both the dyke and a 5 m by 2.5 m stone-built rectangular feature at the west which also abutts the dyke. The larger of these two features survives up to 5-6 courses (1 m high) and is filled to the height of those walls with small stone rubble. Immediately west of these is a 5 m by 2 m area of stone clearance on top of bedrock. There is a structure in the middle of the area bounded by dykes, approximately 32 m NE of the feature just described, which measures 10 m NW-SE by 5 m and which has a 4 m by 4 m extension at the NW end. This rectangular building is reduced to one course and is covered in tumble. The final structure in this enclosure is located approximately 57 m from this building to the SW and measures 9 m NE-SW by 5 m and is in a similar ruinous state. The dyke which runs SE-NW for over 180 m turns a right-angle to just beyond a track-way and entrance to run for 25 m NE-SW before curving away north and east for over 120 m.

At the west of the area described and north of the road, at the head of Bagh narn Faochag, are a number of additional features. Across a 20 m wide strip are the remains of four rigs which run E-W for 8 m and are each 3 m wide. At the SE of these is a stone dyke visible as intermittent boulders running SE-NW for 10 rn. Immediately east of the rigs is a possible structure which is discernible as a sub-rectangular turf bank measuring 7 m by 3 m and most noticeable at the SW and SE. This seems to have partially eroded over the cliff-edge. At the S of this is a 22 m long dyke visible only as stones below turf. There is a longhouse at the east of the possible structure just described. this is comprised of stone footings under turf and measures 17 m ENE-WSW by 5 m internally. There is a small structure 8 m S of the longhouse that is comprised of very low turf-clad banks and measures 5 m NNW-SSE by 2 m internally and which has massive boulders forming its south side. This township is more extensive than the is suggested by the NMRS entry and requires a detailed, large-scale survey although few, if any, of its constituent elements are in any direct danger from coastal erosion. <1>

NGR adjusted based on 1999-2001 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 4500 6530 (439m by 418m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC46NE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	DURNESS

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