MHG65934 - Terrace - Loch Eriboll (E)

Summary

A series of dry-stone dykes running along the coast.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

  • None recorded

Full Description

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.

A series of dry-stone dykes running along the coast for c 0.75 km. There are three phases of boundary here. At the cliff-edge there are the footings of a dyke surviving to one course. On the landward side of this is a more substantial dyke which survives to 4-5 courses and is turf-revetted on the cliff side. This dyke seems to have replaced the other and becomes very substantial the further north it runs. This dyke is up to 1 m wide and is built against outcrops and dug into slopes in sections. This seems to have been an attempt to make the sheer cliff-edge totally unapproachable for livestock with walling built at an angle against grassed slopes along certain stretches. In the (now boggy) plateau at the landward side of these dykes are a number of drainage-channels. Both of these dykes have been replaced by a modern, although now totally ruinous, fence. <1>

NGR adjusted based on 2020 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred NC 4532 6088 (342m by 390m) (2 map features)
Map sheet NC46SE
Geographical Area SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish DURNESS

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (0)

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