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MHG45538 - Hut circle etc, Bouilag Hill

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ND 0917 3288; ND 0918 3276; ND 0917 3274) Pict's Houses (NR) (Remains of)
OS 6" map, Caithness, 1st ed., (1871)

About 3/4 mile SSW of Achnaclyth are remains of hut circles, much worn away, walls of which have been faced on the exterior with stone. The best defined of group has an interior measurement of 31 by 35ft and a bank 9ft wide at base entirely overgrown. A slight mound near the centre of the interior and a few stones protruding from it suggest the existence of an inner structure.
RCAHMS 1911.

(Centred ND 091 3280 A total of four hut circles (A - D) and two mound (E, F) were identified together with the remains of a small rectangular structure a few metres N of hut 'C' and a course of boulders in the vicinity of huts C and D.
Visited by OS (W D J) 29 June 1960.

(ND 092 328) Enclosures (NR) (2 shown), Hut Circles (2 shown) Mound (NR); unannotated mound OS 6" map, (1962)

Situated on a N-facing slope in open moorland are four heather and turf-covered hut circles (A - D), two burnt mounds (E, F), and the remains of an enclosure.
Hut circle 'A' is overlaid and partially destroyed by a ruinous, early-modern house. It measures 8.5m in diameter within a wall spread to 3m and surviving to 0.4m average height; the simple entrance is in the E arc. There are two upright slabs positioned radially at the periphery of the hut interior. Within the wall in the SE arc is a small, stone-lined chamber of uncertain age and purpose.
'B' is 11m E-W by 10m transversely within a wall now spread from 3-4m and 0.6m high. Outside entrance in the E is a low, elongated mound which bars direct access to the hut interior. A slight, stony mound towards the centre of the hut is of uncertain age and purpose. There are several rectangular footings around the hut which may be shielings.
'C' measures 6.5m in diameter within a wall spread to 2m and 0.4m high. The entrance, of simple form, is in the E, and the inner wall-face of contiguous slabs is exposed intermittently. A possible compartment abuts the inner wall-face on the N side.
'D' is 9m E-W by 8m transversely within a wall, now spread from 2.5-3m and 0.7m high, in which occasional inner facing-stones are exposed. A possible compartment abuts the hut on the outside of the NE segment.
Situated on a slope are two turf-covered mounds of somewhat similar appearance, both of which contain quantities of small burnt stones. The northernmost (E) is kidney-shaped, 9 by 6.5m and 1.3m high on the lower (N) side.
Mound 'F', of similar shape, measures 10.5 by 9.5m and 1m high from the N. There are a number of large slabs protruding from this mound including three, possibly four, in line. These stones are earthfast and appear to have formed some structure. Neither mound lies close by an obvious water source.
Immediately N of hut 'C' are a number of stones outlining three sides of a small rectangular structure of unknown purpose. From its vicinity, a boulder wall, deep-set in the peat, extends W then E around hut 'C', before turning N and terminating at the E side of hut 'D'. It is probably contemporary with the hut circles.
There is no other evidence of associated land-use.
Revised at 1:10,000. Visited by OS (N K B) 11 August 1982.

A farmstead, comprising two unroofed buildings, partly overlying hut circle 'A', is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Caithness 1877, sheet xxxviii) and are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10,560 map (1962).
Information from RCAHMS (AKK) 8 January 1996.

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred ND 0918 3287 (16m by 16m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	ND03SE
Civil Parish	LATHERON
Geographical Area	CAITHNESS

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