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MHG29336 - Souterrain - Borgie, Skerray, Sutherland

Summary

An Iron Age souterrain discovered during the construction of a track near Skerray in Sutherland.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

The site was uncovered by two JCB drivers in March 1997 whilst creating a trackway intended to improve access to the Borgie river for fishermen. They encountered a half tonne boulder, which when they eventually managed to lift it, the souterrain was revealed beneath sunk in to the former riverbank. At this point the chamber was flooded but the men on scene pumped out the water. The souterrain was described as having a 'banana-like' curve with a sloping floor away from where the digger broke through.

The 1.6m high stone built chamber measures c9m from the entrance to the semicircular end wall and curved at a radius of c6m. The average width is c1m however it narrows to 0.6m towards the entrance and widens to 1.5m at the semicircular end. The underside of the entrance roof-lintels lie c1.4m below ground level, the chamber falls by a further 0.5m towards the semicircular (distal) end. Two orthostats set 0.6m apart are bridged by a non-load bearing “false lintel” to form an apparently deliberately restricted entrance. Beyond this, the structure can be seen to extend by at least 2m to form an asymmetrical roofed anti-chamber or forecourt. Whereas the west wall of the anti-chamber respects the line of the main chamber the opposing wall curves-away orthogonally and suggests the possibility of a second souterrain mirroring the first as is the case at Ham, Caithness and Easter Raitts, Badenoch. The floor of the main chamber is composed of mid-brown silty-clay containing gravel and cobbles. The anti-chamber is partially filled by a darker brown soil that slopes down from the roof at c40 degrees and spills though the entrance virtually blocking it. A flat sub-circular boulder lies on this anti-chamber fill, where it spills into the main chamber.

The site was surveyed by P D Humphreys and B Hiddleston within days of its discovery in order to record and plan the site using a datum line and drawing frame. The site was also photographed at this time. <1>

The site survey was updated by Paul Humphreys in February 2012 with the addition of a reconstruction drawing based on surveyed data from the site. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 6761 5928 (40m by 40m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC65NE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	TONGUE

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Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

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