MHG11289 - Shieling Settlement, Doire Beathaig
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- SHIELING SETTLEMENT (Post Medieval - 1560 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
NC12NW 4 148 257.
Four shieling footings, one rectangular, 6.5m by 4m, the others circular, 2.5m across on average, in bracken-clad pasture marked by occasional rickles of cleared stones.
Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (JM) 15 July 1980.
Surveyed by the Assynt's Hidden Lives project in December 2009.
Small circular sheilings occupy a terrace on SE facing slope overlooking a small burn. Unenclosed grazings are also visible around this area.
Structure A is sub-circular in plan, and measures 6m by 4m and 0.8-1.2m high. The structure seems to have been remodelled to form a single smaller shelter aligned N/S. The construction is of dry stone rubble, and the walls are 0.75m wide.
Structure B is 2.2m in diameter and is of crude dry stone construction. The walls are 0.6m wide and 0.4m high. Sheep enclosures are associated, consisting of a series of five drystone compartments. <1>
Surveyed and reported on by Historic Assynt. Doire Beathaig shieling comprises the remains of two oval shieling huts (A1 and A2) both of which have been subsequently modified to create animal pens. They lie on a ridge with a south facing slope below it won which there are another nine pens and some overgrown mounds which might be clearance cairns. Pens A6 and A7 lie in a hollow which may have had a dyke around it, but there is not enough evidence to be sure. At the bottom of the slope below pens A8 – A11 is a short stretch of dyke (A12). These remains suggest the abandonment of the site as a shieling after the clearance of the settlement and its later development as a lambing area, though there are no surviving signs of enclosure walls or fences. <2>
Sources/Archives (3)
- --- SHG21343 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Dagg C. An Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Woodland Grant scheme at Little Assynt, Assynt, Sutherland. 31/05/1999. .
- <1> SHG24882 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Cavers, G. & Hudson, G.. 05/2010. Assynt's Hidden Lives: An archaeological survey of the parish. AOC Archaeology Group and Historic Assynt. 01/08/2010. Digital. 76, p.98.
- <2> SHG24885 Text/Manuscript: Historic Assynt. 08/2010. Reports from Historic Assynt on a number of sites in the Assynt area. Digital.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NC 1486 2579 (100m by 100m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NC12NW |
| Geographical Area | SUTHERLAND |
| Civil Parish | ASSYNT |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (3)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/69817 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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