Field Visit

Date 16 December 2011

Event ID 992996

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/992996

NM 5883 4923 A desk-based assessment and walkover survey were carried out on 16 December 2011 on the Morvern peninsula in advance of a woodland establishment scheme. The survey identified 38 new archaeological sites including shielings, townships, pens and turf and stone dykes.

The sites identified during the walkover survey probably reflect the use of the landscape during the post-medieval period. Transhumance activities are well known in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, where shielings were used to manage domestic stock and utilise upland pastures and areas of marginal ground. Two clusters of shielings were found during the survey, and numerous other scattered shielings, all stone-built, were identified during the survey in each of the three areas. The two major shieling clusters probably related to the settlements of Gleann nan Iomairean and Carnacailliche (or Salachan). The township at Lagain was the most extensive of the archaeological remains surveyed, and consisted of 16 individual structures constructed of stone and turf, including a kiln barn.

Archive: Highland HER, RCAHMS and WCAS (intended)

Funder: Killundine Estate and Scottish Woodlands

Steven Birch, West Coast Archaeological Services

2012