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MHG55637 - Souterrain - Broadford Medical Centre, Strath, Skye

Summary

A late Iron age to early medieval souterrain was exposed during a watching brief and subsequent excavation on the site of a new medical centre at Broadford, Strath, Skye by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2011. Finds included pottery dating to between the C5 and C7AD.

Type and Period (1)

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Full Description

An archaeological evaluation including a watching brief and excavation was carried out by West Coast Archaeological Services at the site of the new Broadford Medical Centre at High Road, Broadford, Isle of Skye, between the 25 July and 20 August 2011. Preliminary site cleaning during the end of the watching brief phase of the works revealed a slightly curved cut with intermittent alignments of stone. The southern end of the feature had a stone-lined rounded head while the northern end had a tapered appearance with no stone visible. The upper fill contained medium stone clasts, charcoal flecks and occasional fragment of fire-cracked stone, also several sherds of relatively modern pottery, a small whetstone or fairly recent date and a single sherd of possible prehistoric pottery – deposit probably contemporary with the robbing of the lintels from the roof of the structure and the backfilling that followed. Sections were excavated across and longitudinally along the length of the feature. Although the stratigraphy differed from section to section two distinct ‘floor’ horizons and episodes of silting and backfilling were identified. A spread of small finds including ceramics, coarse pebble tools and one snapped flint blade were recovered. A distinct major backfilling event that took place when the structure was finally abandoned was identified. Stone slabs, interpreted as the remains of corbelling and potential roof structure were found in the south-east end of the feature. In the north-west end of the feature an ‘upper floor horizon’ produced numerous sherds of Iron Age pottery, some of which were decorated with applied roundels. Charcoal and fire-cracked stone was also present in large quantities with the ceramics while at least three cobble tools were also recovered. The substantial remains of a large globular pot with a flared everted rim and two applied cordons were found under a large basalt boulder. Although awaiting full analysis, on typological grounds and dated examples from elsewhere, the pottery would date to between the C5th and C7th AD. The feature was identified as a souterrain. It had been cut through an earlier grain storage pit (see MHG55638) and evidence in the form of a pillar stone measuring 0.7m high, a single row of paving slabs and an alignment of three upright boulders indicated an earlier structure that had subsequently been mostly robbed away. The feature measured c.9.76m in length. The maximum height of the passage at the northern entrance, which included two steps cut into the basal gravels could not have been more than 0.7-0.9m, necessitating a crouched entry. The floor then gradually fell away to attain a maximum height of c.1.3m in the central section of the structure. <1>

A revised Data Structure Report (for <1>) was subsequently produced which includes the results from the post-excavation analysis along with radiocarbon dating results on samples submitted to the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre at East Kilbride. The stone-lined cist was radiocarbon dated to the Early Bronze Age, while the wide range of features relating to the processing of grain including drying and storage date to the Iron Age. A full synthesis of the results from the excavations at the Broadford Medical Centre site will be published in due course. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 64072 23907 (7m by 7m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG62SW
Geographical Area	SKYE AND LOCHALSH
Unitary Authority	HIGHLAND
Country	SCOTLAND
Civil Parish	STRATH

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