Archaeology Notes

Event ID 657294

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/657294

NF87NE 15 8672 7532.

At NF 8627 7532 there are the remains of an earth-house in an eroded sandy cliff on the north side of Vallaquie Strand.

It is situated approx 1.7m below the present ground level and consists of an entrance passage 0.6m wide, of which 1.6m of walling is still intact, with a lintel at its west end. The height of the passage is unobtainable due to debris.

The chamber, thought locally to be oval and corbelled, seems to be about 2.5m in diameter, with the roof supported by a central drystone pillar. Around the earth-house is a dense scatter of shells, animal bones and potsherds both above and below the earth-house. About 5.0m of walling can be traced in the sand to the west of the entrance, and may be a continuation of the north wall of the passage.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (N K B) 24 June 1965.

'Rim and wall sherds from beside the earth-house, Vallaquie Sound (NF 863753) were donated to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS) by Mrs M E Parkinson, Northallerton.'

Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1967.