MHG40080 - Torrish Burn
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- STONE ALIGNMENT (Undated)
Protected Status
Full Description
Enclosures (NR)
OS 6" map, (1964)
About 1/4 mile N of the junction of the Torrish Burn with the Helmsdale River is a line of stones running in an easterly direction from the SW corner of an elliptical enclosure, for a distance of 44' 3", and parallel to it or slightly converging towards the E, at a distance of about 5', is a similar row. In the former row are nine stones, and in the latter, eight. The stones resemble in size those in the similar settings on Learable Hill (NC82SE 6), and are placed with their broad faces in line. The highest are about 2' high, while some of the others now merely protrude above the ground.
The elliptical enclosure is on a slight elevation and its longer dimension is on a ENE-WSW axis.
RCAHMS 1911, visited 1909.
The stone rows were Scheduled in 1940.
The stone rows and the elliptical (at corrected plan position NC 9657 1902) enclosure, are generally as described and illustrated by RCAHMS. Visited by OS (W D J) 14 May 1960.
The stone rows are on the inclined approach to the enclosure and towards that end the pattern is less definitive; the two most westerly stones in the N row could not be identified with certainty, and it would appear at this point, anyway, that the enclosure would overlay or destroy the row. The setting is not impressive, and the significance is speculative.
The enclosure is 7.5m by 4.5m overall. The wall stands to approximately 0.2m from the outside, at about present level of the peat-silted interior, and is seen as a partially-overgrown band of small to medium stones with no coursing or facing slabs indicated; the wall seems to have been less than 1.0m in width. The purpose of the enclosure is uncertain; the dimensions would accord with a shieling type structure but the deterioration suggests an earlier date.
An association between the stone rows and the enclosure is unlikely. Resurveyed at 1:10,560.
Visited by OS (J M) 29 April 1976.
The Scheduled area was amended by Historic Environment Scotland in 2016. <1> <2>
Sources/Archives (4)
- --- SHG1695 Text/Publication/Article: Freer and Myatt, R and L J. 1983. 'The multiple stone rows of Caithness and Sutherland. 3. Their description. II', Caithness Fld Club Bulletin Vol. 3 April 1983, p.120-32. Caithness Fld Club Bulletin. 120-32. 132, No. 20.
- --- SHG2657 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1911. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Second report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Sutherland. . 117-18, No. 335; 133, No. 378.
- <1> SHG27637 Text/Designation Notification/Scheduled Monument: Historic Environment Scotland. 2016. Changes to the Schedule of Monuments: 1820, 1841, 13647, 1770, 90048, 4338, 501, 595. Historic Environment Scotland. 01/09/2016. Digital.
- <2> SHG27638 Text/Designation Notification/Scheduled Monument: Historic Environment Scotland. 2016. Amended entry in the Schedule of Monuments: SM1820: Torrish Burn, stone rows 245m W of. Historic Environment Scotland. Digital.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NC 9656 1902 (30m by 30m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NC91NE |
| Geographical Area | SUTHERLAND |
| Civil Parish | KILDONAN |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM1820 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/6983 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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