Print

MHG3092 - Farmstead - Glaic Na Ceardaich

Summary

A drystone building with associated features and a possible earlier structure at Glaic Na Ceardaich.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

This farmstead, which is situated on a terrace in what is now rough pasture, comprises two buildings set at right angles to one another, of which the main house measures 9m from NE to SW by 5m transversely over faced-rubble walls 0.7m thick and 1.5m high with an entrance on the SE and an extension 9m long towards the SW. The second building, which is situated to the S of the extension, has been reduced to a platform measuring 6m in length by 3m in breadth. There are a number of clearance heaps in the vicinity, indicating cultivation in modern times. (USN93 226)
Visited by RCAHMS (PJD) 17 November 1992.

A rapid walk-over archaeological survey was carried out in 1999 by J. Wordsworth as part of the preparation for a WGS application at Clune Wood.

Site 1: The main feature, as illustrated, is a drystone building aligned NE/SW built of partially dressed sandstone blocks. The walls stand up to 1m high at the gables with considerable quantities of stone tumble, suggesting the walls were of drystone construction throughout. There is an entrance in the S wall and a probable cruck slot to support the roof is located opposite this in the N wall. To the SW is an 11m long extension, with at least 3 chambers, only surviving to the level f the footings. No stone tumble is shown nearby and this may originally have been of turf construction on a stone foundation. This portion was probably the portion shown unroofed in 1902-3. To the NE of the main structure on the same alignment is an extension 4m by 3m, possibly built over an earlier structure 5m by 5m. It is partly filled with sheep carcasses.

Forty-five metres to the SW of the standing building a cairn of stones 5m in diameter and another 6m further to the SW may mark the gable ends of a building, as there is a distinct cut in the ground to the NW to form a rectangular terrace c5m wide. This is badly obscured by long heather suggesting it was abandoned long before the other buildings went out of use. It is not shown on either of the earlier OS maps.

Twenty metres to the S of the main structure, a line of stones on the edge of the slope marks the limit of cultivation on the flat ground and is probably the remnant of the wall line shown on the 1902-3 survey. The area here and around the house is distinctly greener and grassier than the surrounding heather moorland. Several recent machine dug pits were noted in the vicinity, but the well site was not identified. The RCAHMS recorded a number of clearance cairns in the vicinity. Apart from a couple of cairns to the S of the main buildings no such cairns were noted. <1>

The features are visible in 2009 vertical aerial photography <2>

The site was also visited and recorded during a walkover survey by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2015 in advance of a Scottish Water project. Sites 15a-h:

15a: A stone-built, subrectangular building measures 10m NE-SW by 6m over wall 0.6m wide and 1.7m high. It has and entrance in the SE wall and a porch 4m NE-SW by 3.5m attached to the NE side.
15b: The low remains of a possible earlier structure underlying the farmstead, Site 15a, extend 10m beyond the SW end of site 15a. It appears to have had internal partitions.
15c: A grass-covered U-shaped hollow is up to 1m deep
15d: A grass-covered clearance cairn measures 6.5m NE-SW by 4m
15e: A grass-covered clearance cairn measures 4.5m NE-SW by 4m
15f: A grass covered stone/turf bank measures 1m wide and 0.3m high. It has been formed at the base of the hill and may be the remains of a very degraded enclosure
15g: A grass-covered U-shaped bank encloses a deep pit up to 2m deep. It measures 4m by 3m and may have been a storage pit
15h: A small grass-covered pit may have been a small storage pit <3>

NOTE: The NGRs and depictions of this site in <3> are out by c.9.5m to the south. This may have been due to a GPS error or inaccuracy durinbg the survey at the time [IS-L 12/02/2026].

Sources/Archives (4)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 6154 3456 (74m by 55m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH63SW
Civil Parish	DORES
Geographical Area	INVERNESS

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (2)

External Links (1)