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MHG65798 - Rig and furrow - Achiemore

Summary

An area of strip cultivation.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status

Full Description

This farmsteading, comprising two buildings and a rectilinear enclosure, has been recorded on oblique aerial photography (RCAHMSAP 2004) lying within the remains of a system of field banks and rig on the W shore of the Kyle of Durness. The farmstead is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, Sheet V) as three roofed buildings and a rectilinear enclosure. The rig and field banks lie between the shore and the line of the modern road.
Information from RCAHMS (KMM) 21 April 2005 <1>

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow.

On gently sloping ground between Achiemore farm and the cliff-edge at the E is an area of strip cultivation which is c 290 m N-S. This field system runs for 57 m from its most northerly point up to the line of a faint turf dyke which runs downslope on the same alignment as the cultivation strips and is quite ephemeral. These strips continue at the south of this dyke, c 2.5 m wide, and are quite clear for c 31 m, at which point a large, 2.5 m wide dyke runs down the slope. This dyke has an adjoining 7 m by 5 m enclosure at the seaward end. This 31 m section of the field system is defined at the upslope W end by another dyke. The cultivation strips continue to the S of the large E-W dyke, where they become wider (up to 5 m across), and can be traced for over 200 m. Within this area are two enclosures at the landward side of the strips, one rectangular and measuring 5 m by 8 m, the other kite-shaped and considerably larger. <2>

NGR adjusted based on 2026 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 3615 6804 (174m by 333m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC36NE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	DURNESS

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Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (1)