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MHG63311 - Township - Meabost, Skye

Summary

Remains of a pre-Clearances township at Meabost, Skye.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

Remains of a pre-Clearances township at Meabost, Skye. On place-name evidence it may have origins in the Norse period.

The remains of buildings and enclosures, rig and furrow and a head dyke are visible in vertical aerial photography. <1>

Elements of the remains of the township were recorded by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2013 during a desk-based assessement and walkover survey in advance of a proposed new water treatment work upgrades at Torrin and Elgol, and a new water main route between Broadford and Elgol. A small settlement comprising houses, byres, a small D-shaped enclosure and boundary walls was recorded on the southwest slopes of Ben Meabost. The structures did not appear on any of the Ordnance Survey map sheets and did not appear to have a name attached to them, although the settlement may have been called Meabost. In Norse, this name element comprises a 'bolstaðr' name meaning farmstead or steading, so may be of a potential early date – possible Late Medieval or earlier. The original water treatment works had been built within the confines of the settlement, while a later upgrade to the works had caused further impact on the archaeological features including the partial destruction of the D-shaped enclosure and truncation of two of the buildings. <2>

Watching briefs were undertaken by West Coast Archaeological Services in 2014 during the excavations for the new water treatment work upgrades at Torrin and Elgol, and a new water main route between Broadford and Elgol. The modified route taken for the new water main pipe trench at the Elgol Water Treatment Works was successful in avoiding the quite extensive settlement remains, of unknown date. The suite of features uncovered in Trench 3 on the watching brief, adjacent to the fenced enclosure of the treatment works, appeared to represent a central hearth comprising a flat stone slab set in a shallow scoop in the natural bedrock, with two additional scoops located to the NE and NW and a small pit located to the SW. The close proximity of the scoops and pit to the hearth, forming a rough triangle setting, may have formed a tripod over the fire from which to suspend cooking pots or other hearth furniture. The contemporary nature of the features was proven by the deposits they contained and the capping of ash deposits. Unfortunately, a lack of small finds associated with the potential activities taking place around the hearth, and associated lack of material for radiocarbon dating, results in having no means of providing a chronology for these features.

It was considered possible that the hearth relates to the structures and settlement remains in which it was firmly embedded (of potential medieval to post-medieval date). Meabost is a potential early farm site of Norse date, based on the place-name evidence, and its location is unusual in that it is located on the edge of an exposed terrace, at a higher elevation than most post-medieval settlements in Skye. However, the location of the hearth, associated scoops and pit, which were cut into the natural siltstone bedrock, may indicate that these features related to earlier, prehistoric activity at the site.

Due to the lack of small finds associated with the hearth and the associated scoops and pit excavated during the watching brief at the Elgol Water Treatment Works, it was decided to process the samples from these features to extract possible materials for radiocarbon dating. Unfortunately, the peat ash-rich deposits and associated black charcoal-rich lenses, failed to produce any material suitable for dating. <3>

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 5326 1506 (1104m by 709m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG51NW
Geographical Area	SKYE AND LOCHALSH
Civil Parish	STRATH

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (2)

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