Monument record MHG154 - Crannog, Loch Tearnait

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NM 74804 47026 (23m by 22m) (Mastermap)
Map sheet NM74NW
Old County ARGYLL
Civil Parish MORVERN
Geographical Area LOCHABER

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

There are the ruins of a stronghold on a small island in Loch Tearnate (Tearnait).
NSA 1845. <1>

(NM 7480 4702) Blundell (1913) suggests that the island in Loch Tearnait is a crannog. It is nearly circular, 70ft in diameter, and stands in 12ft of water. Its timber foundation seems to have been laid from its centre to the circumference and the boulders on top, none too heavy for a man to handle, are of granite and whinstone ferried from opposite sides of the loch. The island once had a retaining wall built round it, save in two places for boats. Traditionally, there was a building on the island, which was a sanctuary (information from J Ross, gamekeeper).
F O Blundell 1913. <2>

An overgrown crannog composed of rubble, built upon a shallowing of the loch. It survives to 1.7m above water level and measures 29.0m from NE to SW by 24.0m transversely, with its size increasing below the water by another 6.0m. A single boat noost is apparent in the SE, and in the S arc are four stones of a retaining wall. There is no trace of a causeway, though tradition asserts that there was one, and no building was seen on the island. The tradition that it was a sanctuary is still known locally.
Visited by OS (NKB) 16 June 1970.

(NM 7480 4702) Crannog (NR)
OS 1:10,000 map, (1975)

Crannog, Loch Tearnait: This small island, situated in the middle of Loch Tearnait, is said (Blundell 1913) formerly to have been fortified by a perimeter wall. The island is circular, measuring about 18m in diameter at the date of visit; it is composed mainly of granite boulders, although an outcrop of granite bedrock was identified at the modern boat-inlet on the SE. Whereas the surface is now featureless, a foundation structure of radial timbers was described in 1912 (Blundell 1913), when the water-level may have been lower than at present.
The name Tearnait ('refuge') is explained in local tradition by the reputed use of the island as a sanctuary for suspected criminals, and this tradition seems to provide the only evidence for the former existence of an early monastic community, implied by a modern reference to 'the lay abbot of Tearnait' (Townend 1965).
The island is evidently at least partly artificial in origin, and its position close to the overland route between Glensanda and Kinlochaline no doubt made it a suitable location for a fortified dwelling in the medieval period.
RCAHMS 1980; P Townend (ed.) 1965; F O Blundell 1913. <3><4>

An archaeological assessment of this area was carried out in advance of a proposed hydro scheme. <5> A detailed discussion of this crannog is to be found in <6>.

The potential impact on the crannog of the Tearnait Hydro scheme is considered in <7>, which also includes a survey plan of the site.

Sources/Archives (8)

  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Robert Munro. 1893. 'Notes of crannogs or lake-dwellings recently discovered in Argyllshire.', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 27 1893, p.205-222. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 205-222. 205-222.
  • <1> Text/Publication/Volume: NSA. 1845. The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy. Vol. 7, (Argyll), 183.
  • <2> Text/Publication/Article: Blundell, F O. 1913. 'Further notes on the artificial islands in the Highland area', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 47 1912-13, p.257-302. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 257-302. 289-90.
  • <3> Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1980. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the monuments volume 3: Mull, Tiree, Coll and Northern Argyll (excluding the early medieval and later monuments of Iona). . 123, No. 253.
  • <4> Text/Publication/Volume: Townend, P (ed.). 1965. Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry. 18th. Vol. 3, 588.
  • <5> Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Robertson, J G. 05/2008. An Archaeological Survey of River Rannoch and Loch Tearnait, Ardtornish Estate, Morvern, Lochaber. Unaffiliated. Digital.
  • <6> Text/Report: Robertson, J. 03/2008. An Archaeological Assessment of Loch Tearnait crannog, Ardtornish Estate, Lochaber, Highland. Unaffiliated. . Digital.
  • <7> Text/Report: Hydroplan UK. 2008. P450 Tearnait Crannog Report (Appendix C of An Archaeological Assesment of Loch Tearnait Crannog). Hydroplan UK. . Digital.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Aug 31 2009 4:17PM

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.