Publication Account
Date 1995
Event ID 1016786
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016786
Forse Wag now appears as a great spread of stones with structures emerging out of the tumble. It was partially and rather clumsily excavated between 1939 and 1948. The settlement began as a group of stone huts that were replaced by a broch, which was in turn robbed to build a series of pillared houses. 'Wag' is the local name for these houses and may derive from a Gaelic word meaning 'little cave'.
On the north is the circular wall of the broch, with its entrance flanked by a stair and a gallery in the wall. Most of the interior of the broch and its south wall were destroyed when a long rectangular house was built over it. Another long house stands west of the broch. This is 12m long and has the remains of two rows of upright, pillar-like stones inside which supported the roof. Stone lintels crossed from wall to pillar, and between pillars, so that the areas between could easily be roofed with flagstones, perhaps then covered with turf. One lintel is still in position. There is a long entrance passage with door checks, and two side entrances lead off to other rooms or houses, one of which is round and has one stone pillar still standing. Beyond is a complex series of buildings, some early, only partly excavated. The L-shaped structure west of the site is the excavator's stone dump.
In the fields round Forse Wag a number of other structures can be found, including hut circles to the west. Looking south, a noticeable green hump by an old stream bed is the grassed-over remains of three burnt mounds, while over to the northeast a large grassy mound in the distance is an unexcavated broch. Most of the stone field walls round the broch belong to a more recent, though pre-improvement, farming settlement. Traces of cultivation strips can be seen within the walls.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Highlands’, (1995).
