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MHG29757 - Clearance cairn, Torr a Choit

Summary

Clearance cairn, Torr a Choit

Type and Period (1)

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Full Description

Torrachoit
The occupied cottage at Torrachoit was built by Robert Birkbeck late in the 19thC, primarily as a watchers house, presumably for deer poachers coming in by boat. The cottage sits on a fine south facing site, close to the shore in a sheltered bay. The site may well have had earlier dwellings on it. Recording here was restricted to unoccupied structures and features only. These sites were recorded by NOSAS in 2002 as part of an archaeological survey of Inner Loch Hourn. The only cultivable ground, apart from the enclosed cottage garden, lies some distance to the west. The boulder strewn ground above Torrachoit rises continuously and steeply, with many exposed crags, until extensive peat diggings are reached. There are also several substantial boundary dykes, of turf construction, rising way up the hill-slope, none of which have been recorded.

There are numerous clearance cairns on the mounded bracken covered peninsular between Torrachoit and Inbhir an Dubh Uillt, and also the indications of drains, but there isn't a lazy bed to be found. The nearby houses at Inbhir an Dubh Uillt have no obviously associated cultivable ground. How the land was divided up and how it was worked remains a mystery. There are the remains of a typical 19thC iron fence, more or less enclosing the peninsular. There are also 2 possible quarry sites. The best preserved sheepfold on Kinloch Hourn Estate is situated on low lying ground between Torrachoit and Inbhir an Dubh Uillt.

Site: 264 A clearance cairn of mixed sized stones, c 3m long and lm high, built up against a large boulder.. <1>

Note; Site not visible on APs so location approximate. (T Blackie 5/3/18)

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 9310 0789 (4m by 4m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG90NW
Civil Parish	GLENELG
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

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