Monument record MHG3630 - West Town

Site photographed by Christine Yuil, 10/2002 - see Thumbnail Picture.
J Aikten : 22/1/04

NH63SW 39 619 326.

(NH 6192 3283 and group of 3 centred NH 6198 3295) Cairns (NR)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1905)

There are several fine hut circles in the wood to the S of Loch Ashie, on the moor that stretches along Loch Duntelchaig. (ISSFC 1888)
A line of stones, apparently a rude causeway, can be traced from Buaile Chomhnard to a neighbouring mound, and, at the other side of the moor, reappears near the W end of Loch Duntelchaig. (ISSFC 1885)
Centred at NH 619 327 are five hut circles (A, B, D, H and X), an oval enclosure (C) and a few small cairns. A small enclosure lies between C and D. The cairn at NH 6192 3283 is 20' in diameter and 1 1/2' high with a hollow in the centre. It is sited within a hut circle (E). The group at NH 6198 3295 comprises five similar cairns varying from 12' - 20' in diameter and 1 1/2' - 2' in height with hollows, possibly shooting butts, in the centre. There is another small, turf-covered cairn, 12' - 13' in diameter and 1' high, at NH 6191 3279. (Information from A A Woodham to OS 9 August 1963)
OS field surveyor (R D L) located a further hut circle at NH 6223 3288 (G).
Surveyed at 1:2500.
ISSFC 1885; ISSFC 1888; Visited by OS (R D L) 28 August 1963.

Centred at NH 619 326, on undulating moorland, is a settlement of 11 stone-walled huts ('A' -' L'), and an associated field system.
Huts 'B', 'C', and 'F' are oval; the remainder are circular. The entrance to 'A' and 'G' is not evident, but is in the E arc of the remainder. Measurements across the huts are given between wall centres. Hut 'A' measures c. 10.0m in diameter, with a wall of indefinite width. The rubble core is exposed but no facing stones can be seen.
'B' measures c. 12.0m E-W by c. 10.5m N-S with a wall of indefinite thickness in which occasional outer facing stones are visible. The simple entrance, c. 1.5m wide, is flanked on its S side by a tumbled facing stone.
'C' measures c. 12.5m E-W by c. 8.5m N-S, with a wall spread to c. 2.5m, widening to c. 3.5m on the S side of the simple entrance, c. 1.2m wide, where an outcrop is incorporated in the wall. Occasional outer facing stones are visible. A break in the WSW arc of the wall appears to lead into a sub-circular annexe, c. 3.5m in diameter, but this is indistinct and may be due to mutilation.
'D', the best preserved, is c. 14.0m in diameter, with the wall spread to c. 2.0m all round. The inner face of unhewn, contiguous stones is discernible around the N arc, and the outer face, similarly constructed, can be seen in the S arc. The entrance is mutilated. About 6.0m to the NW is a circular platform, c. 14.0m in diameter, bounded on its W arc by a stony build-up, possibly a hut stance.
'E' is c. 12.0m in diameter, with the wall spread to c. 3.0m all round. The simple entrance is c. 1.2m wide. The "cairn" of bare rubble stones within the hut (noted by Woodham {Information from A A Woodham to OS 9 August 1963}) has been hollowed out, but no structures are exposed. It does not impinge upon the hut at any point, but it is clearly later and, as the hut has not been robbed to produce the cairn, the most likely explanation is that it is a stone clearance heap.
'F', situated at the base of a slope, measures c. 11.5m E-W by c. 6.0m N-S with a wall spread to c. 2.0m all round in which several outer facing stones are visible in the S arc, and one to the N of the simple entrance, c. 1.2m wide. Within the hut is a curving cross wall, apparently contemporary, forming two compartments, that to the W being at a higher level.
'G' is c. 9.5m in diameter, with a wall spread to c. 2.5m where best-preserved in the NE arc, but barely visible elsewhere. Occasional outer facing stones can be seen, but insufficient to give a true overall measurement. The hut is mutilated by a track running NW-SE through its centre.
Hut 'H', on a knoll, is c. 8.5m in diameter with a wall spread to c. 3.0m all round. The outer face is occasionally visible in the W arc, and one inner facing stone in the E. The simple entrance is c. 1.0m wide. 'J', situated on a flat area, is c. 19.0m in diameter, with the wall spread to c. 3.0m all round. Outer facing stones occur on both sides of the mutilated entrance, now c. 2.0m wide, and in the SW arc. A clearance heap lies against the N side of the hut. Some 10.0m from the E arc is a curving linear clearance heap with a gap in it corresponding to the hut entrance.
'K' measures c. 10.0m in diameter, with the wall spread to c. 2.5m all round. The simple entrance is 1.3m wide.
'L', is set into a gentle slope, is c. 11.5m in diameter with a wall denuded in the W, but spread to c. 2.5m in the E, where there is a mutilated entrance, now c. 2.0m wide.
'X', described by Woodham as a hut circle, is more likely a small cultivation plot. It is bounded by a semi-circular stony bank c. 2.5m wide, open to the SW, and measuring c. 12.0m NW-SE.
The "cairns" at NH 6191 3279 and NH 6198 3295 are similar to the mound of stones within hut E, and others to the NE (NH63SW 23 & 32, and NH63NW 19); they are probably stone clearance heaps.
The small enclosure between huts C and D was not located.
The field system is defined by ruined field walls, lynchets, and stone clearance heaps which form cultivation plots varying from 40.0m x 25.0m to 15.0m square. The line of stones, described by ISSFC 1885, is an extensive ruined wall which commences on the shore of the loch at NH 617 317 and extends NE to bound the NW side of the settlement. It continues in an irregular line to the SE of Buaile Chomhnard (NH63SW 1), and on in the direction of a settlement (NH63SW 19). It is similar to other extensive walls which occur in the area, and it seems likely that these walls are contemporary with the settlements.
Huts 'A'-'F' and 'J'-'L' surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (N K B) 10 Feburary 1970.