MHG11824 - Prehistoric and later Finds within Shell Midden - Cuthill Links
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- SHELL MIDDEN (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
NH78NW 14 749 873.
On the Cuthill Links, some three miles west of Dornoch, through which the road to Ferrytown passes, are some sites of prehistoric interest. There are evidences of some stone industries involving the use of flint as well as a number of native rocks: a shell midden of considerable size has furnished not only a great variety of shells and some bone refuse but also a large number of stone-flaked artifacts. The links consist of sand dunes piled up on the 25-foot beach,these being interspersed with wind-blown areas of gravel. On these latter patches many finds have been made. No stratigraphical evidence has been obtained, as all of them have been picked up on the surface. Among the more noteworthy of the objects found are a small bronze brooch and 2 flint arrow-heads.
J M Davidson 1948.
On links near Skibo there is a shell mound, about 10' to 20' above High Water Mark, where Rev J M Joass picked up many manufactured flints.
L Tait 1871.
No further information found during field investigation. The west end of Cuthill Links was perambulated from the road to Ferrytown to Ard na Caile without finding the shell mound mentioned above.
Visited by OS (W D J) 6 June 1963.
A thorough search of Cuthill Links revealed no trace of prehistoric occupation.
Visited by OS (J M) 23 September 1980.
See 1948 PSAS article for descriptions and illustrations of the brooch and two flint arrowheads from the midden (available online). <1>
Sources/Archives (2)
- --- SHG1176 Text/Publication/Article: Tait, L. 1871. 'Note on the shell-mounds of Sutherland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 8 1868-70, p.63-4. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 63-4. 63.
- <1> SHG52 Text/Publication/Article: Davidson, J M. 1948. 'A miscellany of antiquities in Easter Ross and Sutherland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, Vol 80 (1945-46), pp 25-33. pp 31-2.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 7490 8730 (14m by 14m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH78NW |
| Geographical Area | SUTHERLAND |
| Civil Parish | DORNOCH |
Finds (5)
- ARROWHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2401 BC)
- MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- ANIMAL REMAINS (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- ANNULAR BROOCH (Medieval - 1058 AD to 1559 AD)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_080/80_025_033.pdf (Link to published PSAS article online)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/14647 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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