MHG18641 - Midden - Papadil, Rhum
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- SHELL MIDDEN (Undated)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
NM39SE 17 365 923.
An extensive shell midden site has been located c 200m due N of the loch at Papadil, Rum at c 50m OD. The site is situated among the boulders of the scree slope at the back of the Papadil glen.
The scree slope includes many very large boulders, with voids between them. The midden lies under one of these boulders in a natural cave and extends outside for c 4m. It is difficult to estimate size, but it must cover a minimum area of at least 8m by 8m. When visited, the site was under bracken and there were few clear exposures of midden on the surface, but it was clearly visible between and under the stones. The cave mouth faces S; it is c lm high, by about 2m by 1.5m inside and it is currently used by goats.
The midden is dark in colour and of a rich organic texture; it contains large quantities of shells. including limpets, and a few bones. In 1993 five small sherds of coarse pottery were collected from the cave area. together with a fragment of copper alloy (?vessel). In 1994 a larger portion of a small round bottomed pot with an everted rim and impressed decoration was recovered from the surface of the midden between two stones inside the cave. It is difficult to find parallels for this vessel, but it would seem to be of Iron Age or later date.
C Wickham-Jones and D Millar 1994.
The excavation assemblage was submitted to Treasure Trove (TT 21/01) and allocated to Inverness Museum. They are listed under Acc. No. 2008.028. See attached TT summary sheet. <1> <2>
A box inventory list of the finds and copy of the finds report (published in the Glasgow Archaeology Journal) are held in the museum archive files. <3>
Sources/Archives (5)
- --- SHG1341 Text/Publication/Article: Wickham-Jones and Millar, C R and D. 1994. 'Papadil, Rum (Small Isles parish): shell midden', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1994, p.37. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. 37. 37.
- --- SHG62 Text/Publication/Article: Wickham-Jones, C. 1994. 'A round bottomed vessel from a new archaeological site at Papadil, Rum', Glasgow Archaeol J, Vol 18, 1993, pp 73-5. Glasgow Archaeol J. 73-75. Hardcopy & Digital.
- <1> SHG28208 Dataset/Database File: Treasure Trove. 2019. Highland Finds from Treasure Trove Annual Reports 2004-18. Treasure Trove. Digital. TT 21/01.
- <2> SHG28370 Text/Record Form: Treasure Trove. 2019. Treasure Trove Artefact Reports for Highland Area 1994-2018. Treasure Trove. Digital. TT 21/01.
- <3> SHG28371 Collection: Inverness Museum. 2019. Inverness Museum and Art Gallery Archive Files. 2008.028.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NM 3649 9229 (14m by 14m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NM39SE |
| Civil Parish | SMALL ISLES |
| Geographical Area | LOCHABER |
Finds (6)
- SHERD (Iron Age - 550 BC? to 560 AD?)
- VESSEL (Iron Age - 550 BC? to 560 AD?)
- MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Undated)
- MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Undated)
- BOWL (Iron Age - 550 BC? to 560 AD?)
- ANIMAL REMAINS (Undated)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/87765 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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