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North Uist, Carinish

Stone Circle (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)

Site Name North Uist, Carinish

Classification Stone Circle (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)

Alternative Name(s) Loch Na Boganaich

Canmore ID 10249

Site Number NF86SW 1

NGR NF 8321 6021

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/10249

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Western Isles
  • Parish North Uist
  • Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
  • Former District Western Isles
  • Former County Inverness-shire

Archaeology Notes

NF86SW 1 8321 6021

Stone Circle, Carinish. A ruined circle, some 136ft E-W and 128ft N-S, consisting of at least sixteen stones, of which ten, broken, badly tilted or prostrate, remained in August 1928: the positions of others were indicated by the smaller stones which had been packed around their bases. Eleven of the stones are in the N semicircle and five in the S. The best stone, some 8ft long by 2ft wide by 1 1/2ft thick, lies at the extreme E end. The next, on the NW arc, is 6ft long, and the only stone even partially erect, just over 3ft high and 3 1/2ft broad, is on the S arc. (RCAHMS 1928)

E Beveridge (1911) found five stones erect out of the fourteen which he could identify, giving a diameter to the circle of 120ft E-W and 90ft N-S. He adds that outside the west end of the circle were two other fallen slabs, one recently broken through the middle as if for carrying away.

E Beveridge 1911; RCAHMS 1928.

This ruined stone circle is now bisected by the re-routed A 865. Seven stones are on the N side and two on the S side of the road. of the remainder it is possible that some stones, now flush with the ground, may constitute part of the circle but the construction of the road has made accurate observation difficult.

Surveyed at 1/10,560.

Visited by OS (W D J) 8 June 1965.

The A865 main road cuts through this stone circle. A prostrate orthostat and the stumps of three others can be seen on the NE side of the road, while on the SW one small upright remains standing. Apart from the road, the interior is largely clothed in heather, though an area of bedrock is exposed near its centre.

Visited by RCAHMS (ARG, SPH) 31 August 2009

Activities

Field Visit (9 August 1915)

Stone Circle, Carinish.

About 1 mile east of the U.F. Church at Carinish, on a flat, elevated plateau standing over 50 feet above sea-level, is a ruined stone circle measuring some 136 feet from east to west, and 128 feet from north to south. The circle has consisted of at least sixteen stones, of which ten, either broken, badly tilted, or prostrate, remain, and the positions of the others are indicated by the smaller blocks which have been packed round their bases. Eleven appear on the northern semicircle and five on the south .The best stone lies prostrate at the extreme east among a number of smaller blocks, and it measures some 8 feet in length, 2 feet in breadth, and 1 foot 6 inches in thickness; the next largest stone measures 6 feet in length, and lies on the north-western arc, and the only stone which may be said to be partially erect is placed on the southern arc, and measures some 3 feet 2 inches in height, and 3 feet 6 inches in breadth.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 9 August 1915.

North Uist xl (unnoted).

Field Visit (31 August 2009)

The A865 main road cuts through this stone circle. A prostrate orthostat and the stumps of three others can be seen on the NE side of the road, while on the SW one small upright remains standing. Apart from the road, the interior is largely clothed in heather, though an area of bedrock is exposed near its centre.

Visited by RCAHMS (ARG,SPH) 31 August 2009

Project (14 October 2010 - 2 November 2010)

NF 8362 6000, NF 8476 5873 and NF 7444 2877

A deskbased assessment and walkover survey were carried out 14 October–2 November 2010 prior to improvement works to the A859 road. The DBA identified several significant prehistoric sites in the vicinity of the developments at Carinish,

including an Iron Age dun (Dun Ban – NF86SW 20) and two scheduled monuments; a stone circle (Carinish – NF86SW 1) and a chambered cairn (Caravat Barp – NF86SW 14). A number of dykes, field boundaries, jetties and dwellings, including a blackhouse, were also noted within 1km of the development boundary.

K MacDonald and R Rennell 2010

Watching Brief (28 March 2022 - 29 March 2022)

NF 83230 60198 A watching brief was carried out during underground cabling works for the Aird 11kV line at Carinish North Uist. The watching brief was required for a c200m length of open cut trench adjacent to Carinish Stone Circle (Scheduled Monument 7580).

The fieldwork was carried out on 28–29 March 2022, during which excavations for the cable trench were monitored and the condition of the stone circle was recorded. The cable trench revealed deep deposits of peat but no archaeological features.

Six upright stones of Carinish Stone Circle (SM7580; Canmore ID: 10249) were visible under dense heather and grasses on the N side of the road, with one where the peat was heavily eroded, exposing the packing stones at the base. The slab was slumped over, but the exposure showed it extended below the current peat level. The other slabs were mostly short stumps just visible above the heather, with some collapsed and others with packing stones visible. Only one upright stone was visible on the S side of the road, which again had visible packing stones at its base.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks

Mary Peteranna – AOC Archaeology Group

(Source: DES Volume 23)

References

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