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MHG10936 - Hut circle settlement 800m south east of Swordly

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Type and Period (1)

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Full Description

Enclosure (NR) (NC 7429 6260) Hut Circle (NR)
OS 6"map, (1963)

A scattered settlement of ten stone walled hut circles (A-K) was discovered during field investigation in 1960 on a SW-facing slope within an associated field system.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (J L D) 13 June 1960 and (R L) 13 July 1971.

NC 741 627. This settlement of ten hut circles, which occupy natural shelves or are set into the slope, comprises three oval (A, B and F) and seven circular examples. The former vary in internal size between 7.5m by 6.5m (B) to 9.5m by 8m (F), and the latter from 6.0m (E) to 9.0m (K) internal diameter. The walls are turf or heather-covered with some bracken infestation, and are spread from 1.5-2.5m wide with a height difference between 0.1m (A) and 0.9m (F). Some facing stones on edge mainly of the inner face are exposed. The entrance to the huts, where identifiable, is in the S or SE arc, those of huts C and K being distinctly clubbed, the wall expanding to 3m in width. On the S side of A are three sub-circular cells, 3m across, bounded by low walls of bare stone spread to 1m wide. The lack of vegatation cover suggests that they are later than the hut.
These hut circles are broadly similar, no single hut is distinctive from the others.
The field system, extending for about 16ha, comprises field clearance heaps, lynchets, occasional field walls and rickles of stones defining cultivation plots ranging frorm 30.0m by 15.0m to 20.0m by 10.0m. Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (N K B) 8 August 1977.

A number of hut circles, rectangular structures, enclosures etc are described and planned.
R J Mercer 1981. <1>

Mercer's numbers equate with OS letters thus:-
No. 37 is Hut circle C,
No. 39 is hut D,
No. 42 is hut E,
No. 45 is hut F,
No. 46 is hut G,
No. 51 is hut H,
No. 47 is a cairn with cist (See MHG10760).
The other features itemised and planned by Mercer are a mixture of stone clearance heaps, field walls and amorphous rickles of stones.
Visited by OS (N K B) 11 August 1981.

The record name was amended following feedback from a visitor to the HER website in August 2008. <2>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 7410 6270 (100m by 100m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC76SW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	FARR

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