Find Spot record MHG10007 - BA Hoard, Migdale

Mrs Marion Fraser identified the site of the hoard find for the Time Team Programme 4/2003 having visited site as a child. Further she says that there is an article in the Northern Times 9/05/2003 on the hoard, saying that some of the hoard ws dispersed at time of finding to local children. She says she has no local knowledge of this, although she says this is a story told in Sarah Horn's book - HAW 5/2003

NH69SW 22 6336 9214.
An Early Bronze Age metalwork hoard was found during blasting of granite knoll on moorland at Migdale (NH 635 921) between 1895 and April 1901; and was donated to NMAS in 1964-5 by Mrs M Carnegie Miller, Connecticut, descendant of owner of property at time of discovery, Andrew Carnegie. and of the report to Society of Antiquaries of Scotland {Anderson 1901})
According to Rev Dr Joass (information from J M Joass to J Anderson) site lay 200 yards SW of two hut circles, and many tumuli and cairns lay all around, but at greater distances (Anderson 1901). The hoard consisted of one flat axe (not two as has been consistently reported), eight armlets, seventy-three beads, at least twenty bead-fragments, fragments of sheet bronze, five sheet cones, an ear-ornament and six jet buttons (Acc Nos: DQ 205, 335-365) (Coles 1962). (See also NH69SW 21).
J Anderson 1901; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1967; J M Coles 1971.

No definite information was found regarding findspot of hoard; but Mr Stewart (N Stewart, Migdale) indicated an area of rocky knolls where he had heard of 'something' having been found. The area, at NH 6336 9214, has been extensively quarried for stone and one or two shot-holes were seen in rock. It is now overgrown with scrub. Moorland to NE of this area was perambulated but no trace was found of hut-circles mentioned by Joass (Anderson 1901)

No further information. Visited by OS (J B) 6 October 1980.

Loch Migdale, Skibo, Dornoch. Hoard found by blasting a granite knoll on moor at W end of Loch Migdale.
Flat axe, smooth on one face and corroded on other, green, tinned, butt cleaned on one face, one side notched; length 152mm, butt 37mm, cutting edge 82mm, weight 530 gms. NMAS DQ 335.
Associated finds: two armlets of butt-jointed strips with three horizontal mouldings between which a decoration of short vertical incised strokes (milling) can be seen; six armlets of D- or oval-section, butt-jointed but now overlapping, their internal diameter varying between 56 and 66mm; 43 beads of sheet bronze partly with wooden cores, varying in length between 34 and 18mm and in diameter between 6.5 and 4mm; a fragment of sheet bronze, decorated on one face with lenticular bosses between traced strokes and bordered with rows of small bosses; fragment of a sheet bronze earring of the basket type; fargment of sheet bronze possibly similar to the last; five (plus one fragment of) conical, V-bored buttons of jet or lignite.
The axe figured by Piggott and Stewart is no longer considered to belong to this hoard, not least because of the different patina: see NH78NW 19. P K Schmidt and C B Burgess 1981.