Cleit 85, Village. View from East.

Description Cleit 85, Village. View from East.

Date 1986 to 1986

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number B 11187

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 793994

Scope and Content Cleit 85, St Kilda Village, Western Isles, from east 'Cleits' are buildings which are dotted over all the islands in the St Kilda range. There are over 1,400 of them and few, if any, similar buildings are to be found in the rest of Scotland. All the cleits are drystone constructions, but the quality of the buildings vary. This cleit still retains its roof which consists of stone slabs covered with turfs. It has a wooden door. The cleits were used for storage of hay, clothes and fuel, and to preserve mutton and seabirds, which formed a large part of the diet of the islanders. The St Kilda group of islands consists of Hirte (often known as St Kilda), Soay, Dun and Boreray. The islands are situated 64km to the west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, and are one of the remotest areas in Britain. The largest island, Hirte, is approximately 1,575 acres in extent. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/404928