Islay, Loch Finlaggan

NR36NE 75 c. 3875 6805

(No grid reference cited in publication). Underwater survey was carried out on 24-6 June 1994 for the Channel Four Television 'Time Team' series in the waters of Loch Finlaggan between Eilean Mor and Eilean na Comhairle. A 'large area' of stratified midden deposit was found, containing organic material (including harp-pins) in a good state of preservation.

Channel Four Television 1994.

NR 3875 6805. Underwater reconnaissance by the Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology in 1994 and a series of test-pits by the National Museums of Scotland in 1997 (DES 1997, 19) revealed submerged midden deposits off the northern edge of this island adjacent to Eilean Mor. Excavation of a section through these deposits in the summer of 1998 was achieved by the construction of a dam and the removal of loch water; this allowed an extensive programme of wet sieving, flotation and sampling for the retrieval of palaeoenvironmental remains to be completed.

The midden, recorded to a depth of 1.85m, had been sealed by the accumulation of a series of alluvial deposits of sand and gravel and the subsequent collapse of stonework from Eilean na Comhairle. All midden deposits which were excavated or revealed in section appeared to be in situ. A number of medieval artefacts were recovered, including sherds of pottery, a decorated copper-alloy band, a small silver brooch, and what has provisionally been identified as a pair of dog collars with a large number of brass fittings, such as those which adorned hunting dogs of the medieval period. These consist of two metal-alloy chains containing clasps decorated with ring-and-dot and a pattern of punch marks. Both terminals of the chains have similar opposing zoomorphic decoration. None of the artefacts so far examined from the midden deposits contradicts a medieval date of between the 12th and 14th centuries.

Two distinct episodes of midden accumulation were identified, separated by a layer of sand and large stones. Both were extremely rich in organic remains, containing considerable quantities of animal bone including cattle, wild pig, red deer, sheep and fish. The remains of plants, seeds, molluscs and insects were also recovered and a number of pieces of leather and wood, including roundwood of birch, shavings, offcuts and worked pieces. One large burnt wooden stake was recorded in situ in the lower layers. The stratigraphic succession was similar to that recorded in the test-pits, suggesting a consistency in the formation of both middens which is unusual for the nature of this type of deposit. The greater quantities of wood apparent in the lower midden, including withies and what appeared to be collapsed wattle, may have been part of a structure behind which some of the midden could have accumulated.

Sponsors: Hunter Trust, Russell Trust, National Museums of Scotland.

C L M Warsop 1998.