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MHG13028 - Possible hut circle - Ledmore

Summary

A possible hut circle at Ledmore. An alternative interpretation is that it is the remains of a sheepfold.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status

Full Description

A possible hut circle at Ledmore. An alternative interpretation is that it is the remains of a sheepfold.

(NC 2384 1182) Enclosure (NR)

NC 2384 1182. On a slight spur on a N-facing slope is a circular enclosure 12.5m in diameter consisting of a low bank of earth overgrown with reeds, spread to 2.5m. The interior of the enclosure is above outside ground level so that the bank has a height of only 0.2m on the inside but is up to 0.6m high on the outside. There is no certain trace of an entrance but a break in the inner slope of the bank on the N side may represent it. It is more likely to be a denuded turf-banked sheep-fold than a hut circle. Surveyed at 1:10560. (OS {R D L} 5 June 1962)
Visited by OS (J M) 9 July 1974; Visible on RAF air photographs CPE/SCOT/UK 180: 1285-6.

NC 235 118: On the E side of a flat-topped hill is a turf-covered stony platform 8.0m in diameter and 0.3m high. Classification uncertain - possibly a denuded cairn, a mutilated hut-circle, or even a shieling.
Visited by OS (JM) 9 July 1974

The site was visited and recorded by the University of Edinburgh in 1976 during a survey of the estates of Ledmore and Loubcroy. Enclosure: circular. Ruined sheep-pen at NC 239 118. <1>

An early modern turf-built sheepfold and enclosures, banks associated with early modern land use.
Revised at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (N K B) 2 September 1980.

223843 911808 Ledmore Forest GS082: The hut circle was visited by A Welti and G Sleight in 2017 as part of research for a dissertation on hut circles in Wester Ross. This was part of a degree course overseen by Aberdeen University. This structure is circular with no stone evident. It has been totally robbed out. It lies on a natural knoll. The sketches show that the top of the knoll appears to have been dug round and the material piled inside the cut to partially level it and create a circular bank. Most of this bank seems to have been eroded away. The structure is within an enclosure which is on 18th Century farm land mapped by Holmes in 1774, but probably earlier in origin. There are two small kerbed cairns (probably Bronze Age) within the same enclosure. These were probably visible from the site before the advent of the conifer plantation. The surrounding landscape vegetation is mostly woodland from a forestry scheme which has destroyed a probable small farmstead near to GS082. Possibly stones from GS082 were utilised in the original building of the farmstead and that the cutaway ring may have been once the foundation of a circular stone wall. Vegetation on the structure is a mixture of grass rushes and moss. The site is 50m from a stream, Na Luirgean, and 800m from freshwater Cam Loch. From the site there are panoramic views inland to the north. Average inner diameter of the platform inside the bank is 11.2m, and outer diameter is 14.0m. No other measurements were possible. The site was previously reported as a stell but it may originally have been a roundhouse, possibly associated with the two cairns. <2> <3>

[Note: a database was set up as part of research for the dissertation and was subsequently expanded as an extension of the We Digs Project (see website link below). The full access database can be made available to enquirers/researchers if requested - contact HER for details].

GIS spatial data amended in 2019 to location as shown on 2009 Aps. <4>

Sources/Archives (4)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 2384 1181 (22m by 22m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC21SW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	ASSYNT

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (2)