Print

MHG4873 - Souterrain - Glen Bracadale

Summary

No summary available.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A souterrain to the east of Bracadale, Skye.

This site may be the 'subterranean cavern or grotto' noted in the Statistical Account of Scotland entry for Bracadale in 1792: "…There is, at the distance of a computed mile from the manse, a subterranean cavern or grotto, artificially built with stones within the top, laid over with earth so that it cannot be seen till a person is close at the entry, which is narrow and difficult of access. It is believed that all these subterranean caverns were used as places of shelter or concealment in perilous times." <1>

With reference to the distance from the manse mentioned in <1>, it should be noted that the souterrain lies c.1.7 miles from the manse, assuming the manse was in the same position as that shown on the OS 1st edition map [IS-L 25/06/2024].

NG 3826 3896 In Glen Bracadale, WSW of Loch Duagrich, at an elevation of 300ft OD is a ruined earth-house. It is situated on a mound of earth and stone apparently partly artificial, and the entrance seems to have been about 6ft from the bank of the stream.
The earth-house has the form of a narrow gallery with drystone walls and lintelled roof about 9ins under the surface, which was into the mound in a direction very slightly to the W of N and then curves round regularly to the NW. The first 6ft of the walls seem to have been quite destroyed, but for some 26ft beyond they can be traced, the space between being filled with debris. At two places, some 16ft and 21ft 6ins from where the walls begin, several lintels remain, covering a length of 3ft and 4ft 7ins respectively. The hollow can be traced farther until it dies away in a circular story mound the centre of which lies some 15ft from the last lintel. Under one of the lintels the gallery shows a width of 2ft 6ins. There seems to have been a rise of about 3ft in the length of the north-house. <2>

An earth-house as described by RCAHMS. About 30.0m to the NW is a ruined house with byre and yard, and about 60.0m to the NE is another.
Visited by OS (C F W) 1 June 1961.

The site was included in an inventory of souterrrains on Skye by R. Miket. 1.3km east of Amer, the valley floor below Beinn Steilg opens into a broad undulating embayment c.100m OD. Some 27m due north of a small stream lie two ruined enclosures and remains from a substantial post-medieval settlement. The gallery runs below a rectangular structure. The northern bank of the stream is marked by a revetment of boulders, broken just at that point where the linear hollow of the souterrain opens onto the stream from the north. The course of the souterrain can be traced northwards over a distance of 9m to 12.2m. The depression has a width of c.1m and rises with the slope to curve gently to the north¬west. Upcast to either side reflects quarrying of the lintels, and only in the mid-length of the passage do capstones remain in situ; two lengths of four capstones, each covering a gallery 0.7m in width, for a distance of 1.5m. They rest upon a rough drystone walling derived from local volcanic rocks. <3>

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 3824 3897 (13m by 14m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG33NE
Geographical Area	SKYE AND LOCHALSH
Civil Parish	BRACADALE

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (1)