MHG4157 - Possible Occupation Site - Rubh'an Achaidh Mhoir
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- OCCUPATION SITE (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
(Area NM 663 922) (Lacaille 1951) A late Mesolithic settlement site existed at Rudha'n Achaidh Mhoir in South Morar, north of the small stream Allt Cuirteach.
A range of both heavy and light tools made from the local quartz was found and a series of flint implemennts which includes flakes and blades of Obanian tradition. One of these bore pressure trimming typical of well developed Bronze Age workmanship. There is also evidence of work in the Tardenoisian tradition. Shell- refuse and bones have also been found (Lacaille 1954). Finds are in NMAS (PSAS 1963).
The site indicates descendants of Obanian food-collectors practising a Mesolithic economy who had some contracts with B.A. people (Lacaille 1951).
A D Lacaille 1951; 1954; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1963.
According to Miss MacDonald (A MacDonald, Ruadha n' Achaidh Mhoir, Morar) about 20 years ago a man, presumably Lacaille, was investigating an area of shifting sand dunes centred at NM 663 921 where the old shingle bed of a raised beach is exposed in places. This is the only logical area for Mesolithic settlement in the vicinity of Rudha n' Achaidh Mhoir, though nothing was seen at the time of investigation.
Visited by OS (N K B) 18 May 1970.
The NMS catalogue lists quartz flakes from Rudha'n Achaidh Mhoir, Morar, under Acc. Nos. ACA 1- ACA 29.
Also listed under Acc. No. ACA 386-ACA 387 and HR 1652- HR 1653 are worked flakes of quartzite and bloodstone, pieces of pumice and a piece of slag which are described as coming from a small bay between Rudha'n Achaidh Mhoir and Beinn an Achaidh Mhoir, Morar. <1>
Sources/Archives (5)
- --- SHG13424 Image/Photograph(s): View of central midden, Glenancross.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG2399 Text/Publication/Volume: Lacaille, A D. 1954. The Stone Age in Scotland. 295-7; illusts..
- --- SHG586 Text/Publication/Article: PSAS. 1963. 'Donations to and purchases for the Museum and Library', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 94 1960-1, p.327-35. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 327-35. 327.
- --- SHG71 Text/Publication/Article: Lacaille, A D. 1951. 'A stone industry from Morar, Inverness-shire; Its Obanian (Mesolithic) and later affinities', Archaeologia, Vol 94 (1951), pp 103-39.
- <1> SHG28278 Dataset/Database File: National Museums Scotland. 2019. Highland Finds from the NMS Catalogue. National Museums Scotland. Digital. ACA 1- ACA 29, ACA 386-ACA 387, HR 1652- HR 1653.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NM 6629 9209 (20m by 20m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NM69SE |
| Civil Parish | ARISAIG AND MOIDART |
| Geographical Area | LOCHABER |
Finds (12)
- FLAKE (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- AWL (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- BLADE (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- END SCRAPER (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- SCRAPER (TOOL) (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- CORE (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- MICROLITH (Mesolithic - 8000 BC to 4001 BC)
- MICROBURIN (Mesolithic - 8000 BC to 4001 BC)
- WORKED OBJECT (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age - 8000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- SLAG (Undated)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/22534 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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