Monument record MHG40434 - Cnoc an Liath-Bhaid

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NC 7287 1015 (410m by 403m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NC71SW
Geographical Area SUTHERLAND
Old County SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish ROGART

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

(NC 729 101) (Name) Settlement and Field System (NR) (Three features, A-C, shown at NC 729 100) (E: NC 7284 1019) Undescribed feature.
OS 1:10,000 map, (1971)

Some 300 yards SE of stone circle on Cnoc an Liath-bhaid (NR71SW 1) is a group of mounds, some of which are rather larger than usual. Near the south end of the group is a large hut circle (B) with three smaller circles abutting on it, and a smaller circular enclosure in the interior. Some 40 yards east of the stone circle is an old enclosure (E). Traces of an old wall can be seen on the lower side of this enclosure.
RCAHMS 1911, visited 1909. <1>

Three hut circles (A-C) and an enclosure (E). The numerous mounds in the vicinity appear to be field clearance heaps.
Visited by OS (W D J) 16 April 1964.

Centred on NC 728 101, along shelving ground in a south-west facing hillside, is a settlement of four hut circles (A-D) accompanied by a field system. The huts are heather-covered and the walls collapsed; entrances no longer survive in huts B and C.
'A' measures 5m diameter within a wall 0.3m high and spread from 1.5m to 2.5m in the sides of an entrance in the SE.
'B' is intruded on by a secondary hut circle destroying much of the E wall arc. In the former the remaining wall-spread, at most pronounced 2m broad and up to 0.3 high, indicates an internal size of approximately 9m diameter. The secondary hut, set into the slope, measures some 6.5m N-S, by 5m inside an ill-defined wall-spread with no obvious entrance; in the interior against the N arc is a pile of bare stones. Lying N-S in the E half of the first hut is a curving band of heather-covered rubble, 1m wide and 0.1m high, of uncertain significance. The RCAHMS mentions three smaller circles abutting on hut B but these were not specifically identified but probably refer to the feature noted.
'C', set in the slope, measures 13.5m N-S by 11.5m over a scant wall-spread.
Hut 'D' is 10.0m N-S by 9.0m E-W within a wall spread from 2.5m to 3.0m and up to 0.4m high. The entrance is in the S.
The "old enclosure" noted by RCAHMS (E) appears to be a fortuitous arrangement, formed by a ruinous field wall around the SW arc, which continues along the hillside to the NW and SE, and a curving back scarp around the NE arc; both field wall and back scarp are probably a result of land-use associated with the hut circles. There are a number of stone clearance heaps from 10.0 to 20.0m apart, occasional lynchets and meandering field walls, all comprising a field system associated with the hut circles, but no measureable plots are discernible.
Revised at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (J M) 1 April 1981.

From the description above, the exact extent of the field system described is difficult to calculate. The mapped extent shows an approximate area, surrounding all four hut circles shown on modern Ordnance Survey mapping. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

  • <1> Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1911. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Second report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Sutherland. .
  • <2> Verbal Communication: Carey, G. 2010-2011. Comment by Giles Carey, HER Officer.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Mar 2 2011 12:20PM

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