Monument record MHG7462 - Torrlaoighseach

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NG 9517 1692 (40m by 40m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NG91NE
Geographical Area SKYE AND LOCHALSH
Old County ROSS-SHIRE
Civil Parish GLENSHIEL

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

NG91NE 1 9518 1692.
Erd House (OE) (Site of) OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1905)

A sloping passage, 26' long, running from the bottom to the top of a gravel hillock was discovered about 1823 (Name Book 1874) by workmen digging for road gravel.
The floor was paved, and the walls were constructed of small, carefully laid flat-stones (G Anderson 1834) or lined with large flag-stones (OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., {1905}), and it was roofed with long slabs resting on strong stone cross-rafters.
In entering it is necessary to crawl on all fours, but it quickly rises to a height of eight feet, and becomes broad enough to admit the advance of two people abreast (OS 6"map, {1905}) MacRae (NSA {Rev J MacRae} 1845), presumably referring to the narrow entrance, describes it as 5' high and 2' 3" wide.
In 1874 the OS surveyor reported that nothing remained, but Wallace (T Wallace 1897), in 1897 stated that the position could still be pointed out, but that the entrance had been closed up for years - implying that the structure was still intact. It was the Name Book examiner who deduced that this was an earth-house, likening it to the 'subterranean Pict's Houses' of the Orkneys.
G Anderson 1834; NSA (Rev J MacRae) 1845; Name Book 1874; T Wallace 1897.

No trace and no local knowledge of this feature was found although the gravel pit is still visible. From the description and the topography the deduction that this is an earth-house is probably correct.
Visited by OS (N K B) 28 September 1966.

Sources/Archives (4)

  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Wallace, T. 1896-7. 'Notes of antiquities in Loch Alsh and Kintail', PSAS, Volume 31. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotl. 86-9. 89.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Anderson, G. 1834. Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. 1st. 281.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: NSA. 1845. The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy. Vol. 14, Ross-shire, 195.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Name Book (County). Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. Book No. 50, 48.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jan 28 2008 12:00AM

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