MHG12046 - Ach A' Chorrain
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- HUT CIRCLE (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
NC36SE 11 369 620.
(Centred NC 369 620) A group of hut circles lying between the 75 ft and 150 ft contours.
'A': NC 3699 6208, is 30 ft in overall diameter.
'B': NC 3697 6206, is 28 ft in overall diameter and the site has been levelled into the hillside.
'C': NC 3689 6202, is 20 ft in overall diameter.
'D': NC 3685 6202, is 36 ft in overall diameter.
'E': NC 3685 6201, measures 29 ft by 26 ft. Stonework three or four courses high in places probably represents a fank built directly on the hut wall. An irregularly-spaced circle of large upright boulders lies at a distance of about 11 ft from the hut.
'F': NC 3677 6198, measures 30 ft in overall diameter.
R W K Reid 1968; OS 6"map annotated by Dr C S Sandeman, Durness, 14 March 1967.
Welsh (T C Welsh 1972) notes a hut circle at NC 367 619, between the road and the crags, which may be 'F'. It has an overall diameter of 12m, a wall about 3m thick and is subdivided by recent walling.
T C Welsh 1972.
Centred at NC 369 620, on shelving ground on the NW flank of the rocky ridge named Ach' a' Chorrain, is a settlement comprising the six hut circles previously described (A-F).
Hut 'A' is depleted, but retains intermittent inner and outer facing stones indicating an internal diameter of 7.5m within a wall 1.4m thick. The entrance is in the NW arc.
'B' is set into a slope and measures approximately 6.5m in diameter.
The S arc is entirely obscured by peat, and neither entrance nor wall thickness are discernible.
The remains of a hut 'C' are scant, but sufficient inner facing stones are exposed to give an internal diameter of 8.8m within a wall spread 2.5m wide and 0.2m high. The position of the entrance is uncertain.
Both inner and outer facing stones of 'D' are exposed indicating a diameter of 5.2m within a wall 1.9m wide broadening to 2.7m at the entrance in the W arc.
'E', overlaid by an early modern stock-pen which blocks the entrance, measures 9.0m in diameter within a wall spread to 2.5m wide.
'F', the most substantially preserved, measures 7.5m in diameter within a wall reduced to a turf-covered rubble spread 2.5m wide and 0.5m maximum height, which widens to 3.3m at the entrance in the W arc. Several slabs of the inner and outer wall faces remain and an early modern collapsed wall crosses the SW part of the hut.
There is some evidence of cleared ground and one or two rickles and mounds of stones in the vicinity possibly from associated cultivation, but post-medieval land-use intrudes and no plots are discernible. Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (N K B) 22 May 1980.
Sources/Archives (2)
- --- SHG1366 Text/Publication/Article: Reid, R. W. K., David, G. & Aitkin, A.. 1968. Prehistoric settlement in Durness: Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 99. Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 99. 21-53. 31, 40, 41, Nos. 62-6, 68; fig. 4, (2, 3).
- --- SHG85 Text/Publication/Article: Welsh, T C. 1972. 'Ach a' Corrain, hut circle', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1972, p.42. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. 42. 42.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NC 3689 6207 (331m by 232m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NC36SE |
| Geographical Area | SUTHERLAND |
| Civil Parish | DURNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/4826 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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