Monument record MHG12354 - Achuvoldrach Burn

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NC 5573 5901 (6m by 6m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NC55NE
Geographical Area SUTHERLAND
Old County SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish TONGUE

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Recorded in survey by Dr Thomas C. Welsh, Sept. 1998.
See assoc. docs.
EM 18/08/2004

NC55NE 14 5574 5901.

NC 5566 5901. A possible enclosed cremation cemetery lying on a flat-topped rise 36m across, and consisting of a mound 19m in diameter marked out by stones off-centre. Within it is a circular bank 3.5m to 5m wide enclosing an area 10.6m in diameter, entered by a 2m gap in NW. Within this is an irregular low mound, 7m across, with at centre, a large block of stone almost buried, 2.3m N-S by 1.1m.
Info contained in letter and 6" map from T C Welsh to OS, 23 July 1973.

At NC 5574 5901, scarped into the summit of a low but fairly prominent rise, is a sub-circular earthwork over-grown with peat and heather. It comprises a flat-topped platform measuring 18.5m by 17.5m overall, with a summit area of 13.5m by 12.5m, and stands about 0.9m high above a berm or peat-silted ditch, which is now uneven probably due to erosion of the peat and/or minor digging. There are a number of large stones lying on the slopes of the platform, but these form no identifiable pattern. The "entrance" noted by Welsh is fringed by grassy swellings and appears to be more likely the result of later digging; apart from at this point, there is no clear evidence of a bank around the summit area. There is no trace of a central mound but there is peat accretion around the large slab which lies about 1.0m off-centre; this slab, being largely buried, may be a protrusion of living rock.
The earthwork appears to be of some antiquity judging by the degree of peat silting, and it may be, as Welsh suggests, an enclosed cremation cemetery.
Surveyed at 1:10,000. Visited by OS (NKB) 8 November 1978

Sources/Archives (2)

  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Welsh, T C. 1973. 'Achuvoldrach Burn, possible enclosed cremation cemetery; hut and mound; hut circle and enclosure; enclosures', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1973, p.57-58. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. 57-58. 57 (possible enclosed cremation cemetery).
  • --- Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Welsh, Dr TC. 09/1998. The Invisible Site Finder: A personal view of the role of interpretive survey in archaeology, based on thirty years experience as an independent site-finder, and a comment on the low visibility imposed by restricted access to publication. Unaffiliated. .

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jan 28 2008 12:00AM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the Heritage Portal maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.