Monument record MHG39576 - Clearance Cairns, 400m N of Achnagoul

Summary

Site of clearance cairns probably associated with nearby hut circles.

Location

Grid reference Centred ND 1639 3290 (4m by 4m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet ND13SE
Old County CAITHNESS
Civil Parish LATHERON
Geographical Area CAITHNESS

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

At ND 1647 3297 and ND 1648 3292, in open, level moorland, are two hut circles (A and B respectively), both heather-covered and peat-silted. The former measures 8.0m N-S by 6.0m transversely within a wall spread to 2.5m wide and 0.4m high. There are intermittent slabs defining the outer wall face, and in the E arc is an inner wall face, giving a wall thickness at 1.3m at this point. The entrance is in the S. Within the hut circle is a low, curving scarp suggesting the back wall of a secondary hut circle, 6m in diameter, sharing a common entrance with the primary hut.
'B' survives as a levelled stance with peripheral traces of walling, 10.5m over all diameter. The position of the entrance cannot be ascertained.
One or two stone clearance heaps are all that remain of associated cultivation.
Surveyed at 1:2500. Visited by OS (J M) 11 November 1982.

These two hut-circles are situated in open moorland some 400m N of the ruin of Achnagoul. The northerly of the two (OS hut A) is set on a broad heather-grown terrace, which also extends northwards as far as the hut-circle ND13SE 49, while the southerly (OS hut B) lies about 60m to the S, at the foot of the scarp defining the SW side of the terrace.
The northern hut-circle (ND 1648 3298) measures c7m internal diameter and entrance is on S. For much of its circuit the wall forms a bank about 2.6m thick by 0.5m high, but enough inner and outer facing stones are visible to indicate an original thickness of about 1.2m.
The southern hut-circle (ND 1648 3293) is visible as little more than a low peat-covered mound some 10.5m in overall diameter by 0.3m in height, its interior marked by a shallow saucer-like depression. The entrance probably lies on the S. An upright stone 0.5m high protrudes through the peat on ENE side of mound, but other stones on W may be the result of relatively recent dumping.
Visited by RCAHMS (SPH) August 1997

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Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

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Record last edited

Jan 28 2008 12:00AM

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