Plockton
Bog Butter (Period Unassigned), Keg (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Plockton
Classification Bog Butter (Period Unassigned), Keg (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) An Cnatharan; Loch Carron
Canmore ID 114421
Site Number NG83SW 14
NGR NG 80 33
NGR Description NG c. 80 33
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/114421
- Council Highland
- Parish Lochalsh
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Skye And Lochalsh
- Former County Ross And Cromarty
NG83SW 14 c. 80 33
ME 174. Keg, 18ins (457mm) high, 11ins (279mm) diameter, filled with butter, from Plockton, Loch Carron.
NMAS 1892.
In 1888 a 'barrel or keg hollowed out of a birch-tree trunk' was found during peat-digging; it contained a 'mass of bog butter'. The keg itself is in store at the Royal Museum of Scotland under accession number RMS SHC 5.
NMRS, MS/736/1.
In 1888 peat-digging at a depth of 4' (1.2m) in the An Cnatharan moss revealed a 'barrel or keg hollowed out of a birch-tree trunk'; a 'cover and bottom' were 'let in'. The keg (which is stored in the Royal Museum of Scotland under accession number NMS SHC 5) contained a 'mass' of bog butter, in which cattle hairs have been identified. It measures 1'6" (0.46m) in height by 11" (0.28m) in diameter, weighs 371 lb (16.8 kg), and has a capacity of about 2 litres.
The peat-moss where the discovery was made cannot be located, but the village of Plockton is situated at sea level on the S shore of Loch Carron.
W I Macadam 1889; J Ritchie 1941; C Earwood 1993; R J C Mowat 1996.
(Location cited as NG 80 33). Two 'similar' kegs were found within ten yards of each other; the form of the surviving keg (NMS ME 174) is similar to that from Morvern (NM75SE 1 and/or NM75SW 12).
NMRS, MS/996/1.
