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Desk Based Assessment
Date 3 February 1966
Event ID 879360
Category Recording
Type Desk Based Assessment
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/879360
NF 1001 9941) Earth House (NR)
OS 6"map, annotated by J Mathieson (1928)
The earth-house 'Tigh an t'sithiche' (House of the Fairies) was accidentally discovered c 1844, and opened by Sands (J Sands 1878) in 1876, who stated it was 25ft long, 3ft 8ins wide and c 4ft high, with walls of large stones covered by a roof of flat stones and earth. It was further investigated by Kearton (R Kearton 1897) and Mackenzie in 1896, and by Mathieson (J Mathieson 1928) and Cockburn in 1928, the latter excavation proving that the earth-house extended a further 9ft (total 34ft).
Over a foot of peat-ash and soot covered a paved floor (with a drain beneath) in which were found coarse potsherds, hammerstones, shells, animal bones, etc. Finds made by Kearton included a Viking iron spearhead, stone net sinkers (or loom weights), querns, stone lamps, etc. (now in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland [NMAS, PSAS 1878, 1897 and 1912] - Accession no. AC 130-2).
Dunlop (M Dunlop 1938) classifies the 'Fairy House' as a 'forecourt monument' Ne/BA, camparable with others in Europe
Information from OS (BRS) 3 February 1966
J Sands 1878; R Kearton 1897; J Mathieson 1928; M Dunlop 1938; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1878, 1897 and 1912.