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MHG5448 - Boat Stems - Druim an Lochain, Eigg

Summary

No summary available.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

NM48NE 3 c. 472 878.

(Area NM 472 878). Two pieces of carved wood (probably stem/stern posts of a boat) about 6ft long were discovered lying some 30 ft apart while draining a moss on the W side of Eigg. The site is a low track of land formerly a peat-moss, extending from the sea below Laig farmhouse about 1/2 mile long from W-E and about 1/4 mile broad N-S, rising gently from sea-level to form 30-50 ft at the E.
The posts appear to be of oak. They are in the NMAS.
N MacPherson 1878; S Greig 1940

No further information. Boat stems.
Visited by OS (AA) 7 May 1972

A glass fibre cast of one of these stems is held in the RMS.
PSAS 1981.

The storage of partly-worked stems under water (which subsequently became bog) is a practice which is well-attested in Scandinavia and would have served to keep the timber moist for ease of subsequent working. Landings for the ends of six pairs of strakes have been worked on one of the Eigg stems and would have defined the future run of planking.
Eigg stem 1 is of bevelled, hollowed and stepped form, while Eigg stem 2 is bevelled and stepped with a flat face.
S McGrail 1987.

The stems are held in the RMS under accession number NMS IN 4-5.
Information from Dr F Hunter (RMS), 20 March 1998.

The fibre glass replica is listed under Acc. No. IN 6 in the NMS catalogue. It it a replica of IN 4 or IN 5, which were both acquired by the NMS in 1878. The replica was made by the National Maritime Museum 1978/9. <1>

Sources/Archives (5)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NM 4719 8779 (20m by 20m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NM48NE
Civil Parish	SMALL ISLES
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

Finds (1)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

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