Monument record MHG55636 - Bronze Age cist - Broadford Medical Centre site, Strath, Skye

An archaeological evaluation including a watching brief and excavation was carried out by West Coast Archaeological Services at the site of the new Broadford Medical Centre at High Road, Broadford, Isle of Skye, between the 25 July and 20 August 2011. What at first was thought to be an undisturbed cist, complete with capstone, proved on initial investigation to have been disturbed and the cist was completely filled, including the broken remains of collapsed slabs. Under the slabs several fragments of an AOC beaker were found in the upper fill. No trace of a body was found although it was noted that the matrix of the gravel fill of the cist was dark, possibly indicating the completely decayed remains of a body and/or organic grave goods. An in-situ broken beaker was found in a central position towards the north-east end of the cist. The very degraded remains of a possible second but crushed beaker were also found. A date of early Bronze Age (c.2500BC) has been assigned to the cist based on typology of the recovered pottery. No additional grave goods apart from a single fragment of worked pumice were recovered. Sherds of Beaker pottery were also recovered from a nearby grain drying kiln complex (see MHG). A nearby pit had been cut by the construction of a late Iron Age souterrain (see MHG) although its more elongated shape and shallow depth was more reminiscent of a grave cut similar to that found elsewhere on the site. Given the residual presence of Beaker pottery elsewhere it was thought likely that there had previously been more cist burials on the site which had been disturbed and/or destroyed in antiquity. <1>

<1> Birch, Steven, 2012, Archaeological Evaluation at the site of the new Broadford Medical Centre, High Road, Skye: Data Structure Report (Text/Report/Fieldwork Report). SHG25684.