Monument record MHG29077 - Hut circle and shieling hut - Druim an Fhuarain, Skye

A hut circle and shieling hut at Druim an Fhuarain, Strathaird, Skye.

A hut circle with 11 shieling huts nearby were recorded by M Wildgoose in 1998 at Druim an Fhuarain, Strathaird, Skye, during a walkover survey in advance of a proposed forestry Woodland Grant Scheme for the John Muir Trust. <1>

The site was included (as Druim an Fhuarain 1 (154)) by M Wildgoose, with a slightly amended grid reference, in a catalogue of hut circles which combined the results of surveys on the Strathaird, Torrin and Sconser Estates. Set on a natural terrace on the steep earst facing hillside facing Loch Slapin. It is 30m upslope from pole 173 on the powerline. The remains of a circular rubble stone bank 1.5m thick which surrounds an interior which measures 7m in diameter. A collapsed single celled shieling overlies the eastern half of the site. The southern part of the site has been extensively robbed, perhaps removing evidence for an entrance. <2>

156700 819700 Druim an Fhurain 6 (MW1) AMC908: The structure was visited by A Welti and A MacInnes in 2009 as part of research for a dissertation on hut circles in Wester Ross. This was part of a degree course overseen by Aberdeen University. The Druim an Fhurain hut circles mostly lie along 70m to 90m contours on natural terraces overlooking Loch Slapin, along the very steep eastern hill slopes of Druim an Fhurain. The structures are roughly 200 m apart. This circular stone structure is 154/9 in JMT archaeological survey 1998 (M Wildgoose). A collapsed shieling overlies the HC and the JMT survey showed a possible further circular structure, see sketches. This structure consists of a circular rubble stone bank which has been extensively robbed. Average internal diameter is 7m, external diameter is approximately 10m. Walling is 1.5m thick. No entrance is discernable; this may have been obscured by the later single cell shieling which overlies the E half of the structure, or by the robbing out of stone along the S arc. A small circular structure lies a few m to W of the hut circle. This structure may be associated with other hut circles, AMC906 (200m) (see MHG29076), AMC910 (200m) (see MHG), AMC911 (see MHG), AMC912 (400m) (see MHG) and AMC909 (600m) (see MHG) sited at similar elevations. <3> <4>

[Note: a database was set up as part of research for the dissertation and was subsequently expanded as an extension of the We Digs Project (see website link below). The full access database can be made available to enquirers/researchers if requested - contact HER for details]

Note: NGR adjusted to position as seen on 2010 vertical APs [IS-L 08/03/2017].