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Field Visit
Date 7 May 2010
Event ID 622011
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/622011
This large cliff-girt stack has been fortified with a drystone wall set halfway down its eastern flank in a position that dominates a broad wave cut platform on the E that provides the only access. The landing here is relatively easy, and the outcrops provide a natural route to the summit, rising steadily northwards beneath the terrace upon which the wall is sited and climbing round to reach the relatively level top of the stack on the N. Constructed in drystone over a distance of about 30m, the wall is heavily ruined, but parts of its rough outer face stand up to 1.5m in height towards the S end, beyond which the terrace eventually peters out on the cliff face.
In the course of a brief visit the footings of at least five structures were noted, though with the exception of the largest on the southern side of the summit these cannot be correlated directly with those noted in 1965 by the OS. The largest (NL 54847 81175), however, is a remarkable structure, measuring 7m from E to W by 3.3m within a wall generally about 0.75m in thickness and probably comprising a bank with a stone inner face. The interior has been dug into the slope on the N and the entrance is in the middle of the E end, marked by two upright stones set 0.9m apart transversely to the line of the inner face, the N of which is 1m high. These seem to have supported the massive lintel now lying across the passage immediately outside them. In its heavily ruined state, the wall also appears spread much thicker here, but this is probably the remains of a baffle wall to protect the opening from the elements.
A short distance to the ENE there are the remains of two smaller structures, one measuring 2.8m from ESE to WNW by 2.4m internally (NL 54883 81185), the other 3.8m from NW to SE by 2m internally (NL 54884 81192). To the N of these, in a shallow fold in the surface of the stack there are another two, the eastern measuring 4.6m from E to W by 2.6m internally (NL 54880 81202), and the western 4.6m from E to W by 2.5m transversely within a wall at least 1m in thickness (NL 54881 81228); like the large building on the S side of the summit, the entrance is in its E end and is protected with a baffle wall. Immediately N of the W end of this last, there are also traces of what may be a sixth structure.
While the OS employed the term shieling to describe the character of the structures on the summit, this is not the location for a shieling ground. The presence of the wall overlooking the access implies some level of defence, and it is likely that most, if not all, of the structures visible on the summit are related to this use. Its date is uncertain, however, possibilities ranging from early monastic site to medieval castle, or possibly a post-medieval stronghold like Dun Eistean on Lewis (NB56NW 1).
