Field Visit
Date 8 May 2013
Event ID 963785
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/963785
The Brough of Bigging is a coastal promontory, measuring about 170m from NE to SW by 60m transversely, the grass-grown surface of which generally slopes down to the SE from a flattish summit. It is accessed by an isthmus (25m wide) at the NE end of its SE side, which has been cut off by three grass-grown banks drawn across its width. The inner bank measures up to 4m in thickness and 0.5m in height and stands immediately NW of a shallow natural depression that marks the NW end of the isthmus. At the SE end of the isthmus, some 40m from the inner bank, is a second, stony, bank which runs along the NW edge of deep a natural gully. Running from cliff-edge to cliff-edge, this bank measures up to 5m in thickness and 0.4m in height but there is no obvious entrance gap. The third bank, which lies on the SE side of the same gully, measures up to 3m in thickness and 0.5m in height.
Situated on the flattish summit area of the peninsula are three structures. A prominent cairn (HY 21861 15735) and enclosure are of relatively recent build and were not recorded in detail. However, just 20m to the SW of the cairn (HY 21843 15728) are the possible remains of a small burial cairn which is visible in the eroding clifftop. With no discernible surface profile, the cairn is marked only by a spread of stones measuring about 3.7m across and 0.65m in depth. Two edge-set stones appear to indicate the limit of the cairn.
There are also two rectangular buildings. One (HY 22013 15671), measuring 13m from NE to SW by 8.4m transversely over grass-grown walls spread up to 2m in thickness, partly overlies the NE end of the outermost bank across the isthmus. The second building lies immediately SE of the innermost bank. It measures 5.5m from NE to SW by at least 2.5m within a wall 1.5m in thickness formed from large edge-set stones.
Visited by RCAHMS (GFG) 8 May 2013.
