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MHG4047 - Souterrain - Vatten

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Full Description

(NG 2805 4483) Erd House (NR)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)

There is an earth-house on Vatten Farm, having its entrance in the face of a precipitous bank, over- hanging a deep ravine. A passage about 3' in height and near the same in breadth, roofed by stones laid on as lintels, leads inwards to the distance of 60' or 70', when it opens into what appears to have been a central chamber of considerable extent, arched over with stone, and from 4' to 5' in height. Off this room several narrow galleries branch in various directions but to what extent has never been ascertained. <1>

The site of this earth-house lies barely 200 yards NE of Rosgill School, on the steep left bank of the Rosgill River. The entrance passage ran under the surface of the ground at right angles to the burn but no trace of the building is now to be seen. <2>

There are no visible remains of this earth-house. The site of the entrance was pointed out and takes the form of a shallow depression in the bank of the burn which if extended would coincide with a stone-filled depression in the NE side of an old enclosure which may be part of the collapsed passage.
Visited by OS (C F W) 15 May 1961.

The site is included in a inventory of souterrain sites in Skye by R Miket. The description suggests a souterrain different from the others on the island and more reminiscent of a wheelhouse, a type of structure not yet encountered on Skye. The position of the souterrain is unknown and Clerk's description offers only a general location somewhere on the gently sloping terrace south of the ravine occupied by the Roskill river. Access to this area is from the minor road immediately south of its junction with the A863, and along a farm track between Roskill School and the river. 120m along this track is a ruined enclosure with associated buildings. Within the northeastern extremity of this enclosure is a shallow depression which may mark a point of subsidence into the underground structure. Local tradition places the entrance in the bank of the ravine some 15m to the south-east. <3>

The depression noted by R Miket at the northeastern extremity of the enclosure is clearly visible on vertical aerial photographs taken from 1999-2001 onwards. <4>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 2807 4484 (40m by 40m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG24SE
Geographical Area	SKYE AND LOCHALSH
Civil Parish	DUIRINISH

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