Elevated view from SSE

Description Elevated view from SSE

Date 5/8/1999

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

Catalogue Number D 64197 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 875520

Scope and Content Cleadale township from south-east, Eigg, Small Isles, Highland The island of Eigg is one of the Small Isles along with Canna, Rum and Muck. It lies 16km off the west coast of Scotland and has been inhabited since at least Neolithic times (c.4000-2500 BC). Later inhabitants have left the remains of Bronze Age hut circles, Iron Age forts, early medieval burial cairns, Early Christian crosses, Viking boat stems and 19th century townships. The island was bought in 1997 by its residents in conjunction with the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Highland Council. This shows the crofting township of Cleadale from a rock formation known as 'the finger'. The land was divided into narrow strips for farming by the landowner in 1809. Each croft runs from the rocks of An Cruachan to the sea, and includes a croft house. The patterns of earlier 18th century fields, with their wavy boundaries dictated by natural features, can also be seen. Crofters used the rocky ground to keep a small number of animals and cultivated potatoes, kale and oats on the more fertile land near the sea. With tenants restricted to their crofts, wealthy landowners were able to use more of their land to graze sheep, which proved much more profitable. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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