Archaeology Notes

Event ID 697973

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/697973

NR86NE 1 Centred on NR 86770 68730

(NR 8674 6873) Castle (NR) (In Ruins)

OS 6" map (1924)

The nucleus of Tarbert Castle is formed by a building of irregular courtyard plan. The remaining portion of the site, much of which is at a considerably lower level, is enclosed by a curtain wall to form an outer bailey. This curtain wall incorporates a number of projecting towers, and is interrupted midway alongs its SE sector by a tower house and forework, now the most conspicuous feature os the remains.

Neither the architectural nor the historical evidence is complete enough to enable the dates of the surviving buildings to be determined with any degree of precision. In view of its size and disposition, however, the courtyard building, or inner bailey, may be ascribed to the 13th century. The outer bailey is probably of early 14th century date, when large-scale building operations are known to have been carried out. the tower house likely dates from the turn of the 15-16th centuries, while the associated forework was probably erected later in the 16th century.

RCAHMS 1971, visited 1966

Generally as described. The overall dimensions of the outer bailey are 89m NE-SW by 70m and the inner bailey 27m NW-SW by 37m. In the NW corner of the inner bailey there is an irregular shaped stone lined depression which is probably the remains of a well.

Revised at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (IA) 9 July 1973

No change to the report above.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (BS) 3 February 1976.

A watching brief was conducted in December 1992 to supervise any ground disturbance caused by the replacemnt of a stock fence with adeer fence around the late 15th-century tower-house and along the cliff top to its NW.

The majority of the eleven holes dug for the posts of the deer fence (each c1m deep and 0.5m in diameter) contained nothing of archaeological significance. Two post holes produced quantities of boulders, probably representing tumble, and a third contained a large flat boulder lying horizontally. The only identified structural remains lay 3m from the SW wall of the possible gatehouse. Three courses of moratred wall may represent either the wall of the possible round tower shown on the 1sr edition OS 6-inch map, or a continuation of the curtain wall.

Sponsor: Forest Enterprise.

CFA 1993.

NR 8677 6873 Site identified as part of a coastal zone assessment survey.

M Cressey, S Badger, 2005.