Monument record MHG29091 - Hut circle - Keppoch Wood, Strathaird

A hut circle near Keppoch Wood, Strathaird, Skye.

A hut circle and pens were recorded by M Wildgoose in 1997 at Keppoch Wood, Strathaird, Skye, during a walkover survey in advance of a proposed forestry Woodland Grant Scheme for the John Muir Trust. <1> <2>

The site was included 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. It lies on a natural terrace on the lower southeast facing flank of Nead an Fhir-eoin, just above the southwest corner of the Keppoch plantation. A small burn passes close by the northwest side of the site. It consists of a large circular turf bank 1.5m thick and almost 1m high, which has been revetted on its inner face with well-laid stonework surrounding an interior which measures 6m in diameter. A somewhat degraded entrance 2m wide faces to the southeast. The wall does not appear to thicken at the entrance. <3>

155550 818476 Keppoch Wood (MW 178/11e) AMC901: 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. This circular stone structure is 178/11e in archaeological survey 1999 (M. and J. Wildgoose). It is located around 1km from both the Drum Fhurainn cluster and the Cille Mhaire Glen cluster. The site lies on a natural terrace on the lower south east facing slope of Neal an Fhir-eoin, just above the SW corner of the Keppoch Plantation. A small burn runs 5m from the NW side of the site. The structure consists of a circular turf bank revetted on the inner NW face with well laid stonework. There are panoramic views to land and sea from the site. Average inner diameter is 6m, outer diameter is 8.4m. Average wall thickness is 1.6m and height is 0.6 m. A SE facing entrance is 2.5m in width. (See MW sketch 1999 and AMC sketch 2009). It lies c.1km from AMC902 (see MHG28973), AMC903 (see MHG28972), AMC904 (see MHG). <4> <5>

[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]