Skye, Tungadale

Earth-house, Tungadal.

About 150 yards east of Loch Duagrich and about 600 yards north-east of the shepherd's house at Tungadal, on a shelf near the base of a steep slope on the north-east shoulder of Ben Duagrich, at an elevation of some 350 feet above sea level, is an earth-house, which though partially destroyed still shows a long straight gallery of drystone building, roofed with long lintel stones under about 9 inches of soil, in a good state of preservation. Access to the building is at present obtained through a break in the roof and wall at the north-east. The chamber runs towards the south-west, and can be traversed for a distance of 20 feet, where there is a lintel placed 1 foot lower than the others. As there is a large accumulation of soil at this place it is impossible to ascertain the character of the structure beyond. At the broken opening the earth-house is some 2 feet 8 inches wide, about 9 feet in it widens to 2 feet 10 inches, then contracts to a width of 2 feet at a distance of 18 feet. At this point the wall on the left has a break 1 foot deep, making the passage about 3 feet wide. By the time the low lintel is reached, 2 feet farther on, it contracts to a width of 2 feet 6 inches. Some 2 feet 2 inches from the opening on the floor level in the south-eastern wall is a recess at least 2 feet 6 inches in height, 1 foot 6 inches in breadth, and 2 feet deep ; after an interval of 2 feet, where the divisional stone projects about 6 inches out from the line of the wall, is a very narrow recess extending from the roof to the floor, 6 inches in width and 2 feet in depth. The maximum height of the chamber is about 3 feet 6 inches. The walls are well built, and on the south side there are several large slabs set on end. At the north-eastern end of the gallery there are indications in a stony hollow that it had continued in a curve towards the north and back towards the west, and perhaps was connected with two oval cells placed end to end in a line roughly parallel with the gallery. The indications of these oval chambers are very indefinite, and their existence can only be verified by excavation; they appear as stony hollows measuring some 12 feet and 9 feet in length and about 7 feet and 6 feet in breadth respectively.

This earth-house is marked 'Dun' on the O.S. map.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 26 May 1915.

OS map: Skye xxix

NG44 3 TUNGADALE

NG/4076 4006

This souterrain, associated with a rectangular homestead (partly excavated into the hill slope) in Bracadale, Skye, is situated in Glen Bracadale a few feet above the east shore of Loch Duagrich near its east end. The house is on the north-facing crest of a small knoll and about 300 ft (90.2m) above sea level [2]. Excavations were carried out in 1988 by Roger Miket [3] and are briefly described here because the pottery recovered is the standard early or middle Iron Age indigenous ware of the Western Isles.

Summary of excavations

The underground passage was located within the thickness of the house wall, between the inner face and the natural hill slope, and had evidently been used while the house was occupied [3]. The pottery and finds seem mostly to have been in the successive floor deposits of the Iron Age house. No C-14 dates were obtained for the Iron Age occupation.

Discussion

Like Dun Ardtreck in its primary phase of occupation the pottery suggests that Tungadale house and souterrain could have been occupied, by elements of the indigenous population, almost at any time between the 7th century BC and the 2nd century AD. At Dun Ardtreck Everted Rim ware appeared in about the 2nd century so its absence from Tungadale could imply that the site was abandoned before that date.

Finds: there are no details of these except for illustrations – without descriptions – of about 40 potsherds [3, figs. 31-33]. The pottery however is strikingly similar to that found in the early levels of Dun Ardtreck a few miles to the west across Loch Harport (NG33 2). It consists mainly of Vaul ware vases and barrel-shaped urns but with far less ornament than in the semibroch. There are no clear signs of Everted Rim ware.

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NG 44 SW 1: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 148, no. 497: 3. Miket 2002: 4. MacKie 1975, 166-7: 5. Ritchie and Harman 1996, 29.

E W MacKie 2007

Sub-rectangular stone and earth-built homestead, c. 11 by 4m with a contemporary souterrain. The interior of the homestead appears to have been for domestic habitation, with remnants of benches in the eastern half of the building and a central hearth. Occupational debris on the floor level of the homestead produced a range of pottery. Later a circular 'shieling-type' building was built within the ruins of the homestead. It had a well-built inner wall-face, short entrance passageway and two floor levels each with a hearth. C-14 dates and a small 14th c bronze mirror case recovered from the passageway confirm 13th to 14th century date for this later building. Sometime in the 18th or 19th century two rectangular stone buildings were built a few metres to the east.

The souterrain entrance was not hidden. There was also access from the structure. A drain had been inserted into the floor of the souterrain, leading out through the entrance, beneath the main occupation area, to an external cobbled yard.

Finds from the excavation are in Dualchas. The site has been laid out for display, with access by foot from Totarder, Glen Bracadale.

(Miket 2002).

Radiocarbon dates of the Tungadale building are c. 3rd century BC (Armit 1993, 241), showing clearly that subrectangular buildings were also being constructed as well as the familiar roundhouses.

Armit, Ian 1993. The Archaeology of Skye and the Western Isles, pp. 131-3, 241

Roger Miket 2002. 'The Souterrains of Skye' in Beverley Balin Smith & Iain Banks (eds). In the Shadow of the Brochs. The Iron Age in Scotland, pp. 83, 90, 98-101.

Note: called Tungadale in Armit 1993 and Miket 2002.

Associated with BUILDINGS

Information from ARCH Community Timeline course, 2011