Monument record MHG26260 - Farmstead and township - River Farigaig / Abersky South, Tombreac

NH52NE 29 5993 2612

A farmstead comprising one roofed, two unroofed buildings and an enclosure is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire 1875, sheet xlii). One unroofed building is shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1976).
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 25 June 1996

The remains of the settlement were subject to a measured and topographic survey by NoSAS in 2011. The settlement was situated on a close-cropped grassy river terrace on the west bank of the River Farigaig and was bisected by a minor unfenced road. The site comprised 7 buildings, 2 enclosures, a corn drying kiln and 2 pits. There was evidence of two phases of occupation; an earlier township and a later farmstead, which appears on the 1st edition OS map of 1875

The earlier township comprised the turf footings of at least 5 buildings and an enclosure, with a corn drying kiln and 2 pits on the edge of the terrace immediately above the river. The majority of the features were on the north side of the site and to the east of the road. The turf footings of the buildings, where they existed, were quite substantial and have rounded corners, but in places they had been destroyed or truncated. One of the buildings, the most intact, appeared to be a byre; it measured 23.7m x 13.5m, but tapered to 6m at its lower south end; it had two compartments and a drain running down the centre. Another structure had been truncated by the road and others to the SW on the opposite side of the road had several compartments.

The farmstead has previously been recorded in the FESP project and comprised the stone footings of a rectangular building, 17m x 5m overall, with squared corners and 3 compartments. The two compartments to the north were more intact and the footings there were generally 0.4m in height; the building had almost certainly been robbed of its stone. Surrounding the building was an enclosure defined on its south side by a turf bank and on the west and north by a line of trees. There was no evidence of the two unroofed buildings seen on the FES of 1875. <1>