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MHG58338 - Shieling hut and pen, Sgamadail (east)

Summary

Shieling hut and pen, Sgamadail (east)

Type and Period (2)

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Full Description

Sgamadail (east)
These sites were recorded by NOSAS in 2008/9 as part of an archaeological survey of outer Loch Hourn.

Sgamadail is a place of two halves, referred to here as ‘east’ and ‘west’ for convenience. In the latter 18th century, they were known as ‘the two Sgamadails’ and were held - along with ‘the two Croulins’ - by the same person (Munro 1984). Both Sgamadails are sited on outwash fans, spreads of boulders and earth carried down by melt water from the corries above at the end of the last Ice Age (plates 22 and 25). The outwash fans around Loch Hourn do not appear to have been the first choice for settlement, but following the settlement of the fertile valleys like Glen Mor, Glen Beag and Glen Arnisdale, population pressure eventually led to the occupation of the outwash fans. Plenty of building material was available, while the soil in the pockets between the stone is mineral rich. With a huge amount of hard work removing stones, outwash is capable of being cultivated in plots of rig and furrow or as small terraces.

The Sgamadails are typical of a dozen or more similar settlements around the shores of the loch, apparently progressing from summer shielings to permanent settlements. Having said this, the first settlement at Sgamadail (east) might go back to prehistoric times, as two circular recessed platforms were discovered about 200m inland, at an altitude of about 100m OD (Sites 1283, 1284).

Site 1203. A moss-covered, rectangular shieling hut with rounded corners, which is oriented E-W. The drystone walls are 0.5m-1m thick and the building measures 6m x 3m internally. Within the walls is a later structure with 2m high walls, presumably created out of the original building (see Site 1204). It is surrounded by bracken infested grassland.

Site 1204. A circular lambing pen within the SW corner of Building 1203, which measures 1.5m in diameter and stands to 2m high. <1>

NGR adjusted based on 1999-2001 AP’s <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 8063 0926 (8m by 8m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG80NW
Civil Parish	GLENELG
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

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