Monument record MHG9944 - Broch, S of Church, Loth

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NC 9763 1117 (70m by 70m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NC91SE
Geographical Area SUTHERLAND
Old County SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish LOTH

Map

Type and Period (2)

Full Description

There is a Pictish building on shore below the church (at Loth).
At this spot (Stronrunkie) are the remains of an edifice, resembling the other Pictish buildings in the parish, in which was found some years ago the entire skeleton of a man, who by the size and length of the bones, must have far exceeded in bulk the common standard of the present day. Several deer horns have also been found in digging there. Most of the stones have been used in building the manse, church and a farmhouse.
OSA 1793

There is a large amount of stone lying along the top of a small plateau between the railway and the sea just S of Stronerungie. The site is far too indefinite for any opinions as to its origin. Visited by OS (W D J) 27 May 1960.

A suitable situation is at NC 9720 1059 where there is a small hillock of earth and loose stones, extensively quarried, but remains are too amorphous to classify, although suggestive of a broch platform at a distance.
The nomenclature "Pictish building" implies a broch, though the discovery of human bones is noted. There is no local knowledge of the site and its position remains uncertain.
The site at NC 9768 1114 (located by OS field investigator {W D J}) appears to be entirely recent stone clearance and there are no structural remains (in fact little stone at all) in the amorphous mound at NC 9720 1059 (located by OS field investigator {R L}). This mound is threatened by quarrying.
The most suitable situation is at NC 9764 1117 on SE spur of an isolated hillock, at a point where dry-stone walls make a curious U-shaped detour apparently to avoid an amorphous stony area now with recent stone clearance added. There are a number of large stones here which are suitable for broch construction, but they form no pattern; this is the only place where such stones can be seen. From their configuration the dry-stone walls antedate the railway (about 1870), and are almost certainly contemporary with the farmhouse church and manse mentioned by OSA in 1798.
Visited by OS (N K B) 18 May 1976.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Sir John Sinclair (ed.). 1791-9. The statistical account of Scotland, drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes. Vol. 6, 320.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

May 13 2016 12:00AM

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