Monument record MHG44856 - Arpafeelie

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NH 6205 4993 (30m by 30m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NH64NW
Geographical Area ROSS AND CROMARTY
Old County ROSS-SHIRE
Civil Parish KNOCKBAIN

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

NH64NW 18 619 498.
(NH 6205 4993) Enclosures (NR) OS 6"map, (1959)

The two published enclosure appear to be easternmost of three pairs of large, circular enclosures with entrances 6' wide in E or ESE arc. The banks are of stone, now spread and turf-covered, 8' - 10' wide and about 1' high with diameters ranging from 49' - 61' from crest to crest. Jolly (W Jolly 1882) shows an earthen mound connecting three pairs of enclosures (See also NH65SE 12).
A stone, in which is cut a tapering cup 8" in both depth and diameter, lies in easternmost circle. It is locally supposed to have curative properties, but it may have been socket stone for roof pole.
W Jolly 1882; A A Woodham 1956; W J Watson 1924; Information from A A Woodham to OS, undated)

A settlement of six circular stone-walled huts (A - F) in pairs as illustrated by Jolly (W Jolly 1882), centred at NH 619 498 on a wooded ridge. The wall of each hut is is denuded and spread to about 3.0m all round, and each has an ill-defined entrance in E to ESE arc. They are all mutilated by trees. All hut diameters are given between wall centres.
Hut 'A', at NH 6206 4992, is c. 15m in diameter. Within S arc is holed stone, as described and illustrated by Jolly (W Jolly 1882); it is known locally as the "Wailing Stone", and still believed to have curative powers. Its function is obscure.
'B' at NH 6203 4991, is c. 17.5m in diameter.
'C', at NH 6194 4986, is c. 17m in diameter.
'D', at NH 6191 4986, is c. 16m in diameter.
Immediately S of entrance are three conglomerate blocks, only one in situ, which were probably part of the outer wall face.
'E', at NH 6187 4981, is c. 19m in diameter.
'F', at NH 6186 4979, is c. 14.5m in diameter. It is uncertain because of its denuded E arc if hut 'E' overlies it or if huts were contiguous.
The wall shown by Jolly (W Jolly 1882) connecting huts can still be traced, and there are traces of one or two clearance heaps mutilated by forestry activities; they are probably from contemporary cultivation plots, (but see NH64NW 20).
Surveyed at 1:2500. (visited by OS {R B} 10 March 1966)
Visited by OS (A A) 11 January 1971.

(Name: NH 6198 4984) Settlement (NR)
6 hut circles depicted in positions given by OS field surveyor 11 January 1971) OS 1:10,000 map, (1974)

Sources/Archives (4)

  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Jolly, W. 1882. On cup-marked stones in the neighbourhood of Inverness; with an appendix on cup-marked stones in the Western Islands. Proc Soc Antiq Scot Volume 16. 300-401. 385-7; plan, fig,87, 88.
  • --- Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of the Black Isle, Ross and Cromarty District, Highland Region. . 15, No. 79.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Watson, W J. 1904. Place names of Ross and Cromarty. 88.
  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Woodham, A. A.. 1956. A survey of prehistoric monuments in the Black Isle. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Vol. 88 (1953-55). 65-93. p 84.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jan 28 2008 12:00AM

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