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MHG11004 - Hut circles - Allt a' Mhuilinn

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Full Description

(NC 8276 1129) Hut Circle (NR) (NC 8284 1137) Enclosure (NR)
OS 6"map, (1969)

About 200 yards from the east side of the road on the left bank of Allt a'Mhuilinn burn, some 500 yards NE of Ascoile, is a stone circle about 30ft in diameter. The stones, set on end, are nearly all visible, none projecting more than 2ft above the ground.
J M Davidson 1948.

Three enclosures were identified including that described by Davidson ('D').
Surveyed at 1:10,560.
Visited by OS (R D L) 11 May 1964.

Centred at NC 828 114 on a SW-facing slope, is a settlement of four stone-walled huts (A-D).
Huts A-C are oval, varying in size from about 12.0m by 11.0m to 9.0m by 8.0m internally, the longer axis being through the entrance in the S arc.
D, the best-preserved, is the "stone circle" noted by Davidson. It measures 10.8m internal diameter within a wall about 1.3m thick faced internally with a near-contiguous line of stones on edge. Its entrance is in the S arc.
Hut C is in poor condition, with the E part obscured by earth slip, but all huts are of similar style and appearance.
Apart from three or four scattered stone clearance heaps, there is no trace of a field system in the vicinity of the huts, though a well-preserved system occurs up the hill to the E (See NC81SW 5). Revised at 1/10,000.
Visited by OS (J B) 30 December 1975. <1>


Hut-circle, NC 82767 11274.
Centre of 10m x 9m internal dimensioned hut circle, with the long axis trending 023 degrees, set on a shoulder on a 150 degrees SW-sloping, rough grass and heather-covered hillside. The interior and walls are thickly covered with bracken, but there is also grass, heather and reeds. The walls comprise large, rounded boulders around almost the entire circumference, as well as peat turf, and are 2m thick and 0.6m high. The walls on the W side, however, are spread to 3m, where they are built up to 1m high externally, to provide a level interior. There is well-preserved stone kerbing on the interior of the SW wall, and a possible entrance opens to 197 degrees.

Hut-circle, NC 82855 11355.
Centre of slightly larger (10m internal diameter) and possibly earlier hut circle, set on a 13 degrees WSW-sloping hillside, covered in grass below the structure and heather above it. It appears very different in design and construction to the adjacent downhill hut circle of Feature 058 (above) and is situated on ground which is currently much better drained. It also has the appearance of being older, as it has little stone visible in its construction and has been eroded to a much greater extent.

This hut circle has broad and low, short grass, moss and heather-covered walls, with only occasional stone exposed protruding through the vegetation cover. The walls are spread to 2m wide and only 0.4m high, although the downhill, SW side has been banked up over a distance of 7m to provide a level interior and it is up to 1m high externally, and commensurately, the uphill side has been excavated into the hillside to 0.5m lower than the surrounding surface level. The interior slopes 7 degrees towards the prominent 1.5m wide entrance opening to 158 degrees.

Clearance Cairns, NC 83263 11469.
Field of clearance cairns set on moderately W-sloping, heather-covered hillside of Cnoc a'Ghrianain. <1>

(N.B. A smaller, third hut circle in this group, marked on the current OS Landline map was not found, at this location).

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 8278 1141 (246m by 332m) (6 map features)
Map sheet	NC81SW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	CLYNE

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