Kilmartin, Barr Mor

NM80SW 71 8139 0065

An unnamed deserted settlement at Bàrr Mór, Ormaig Forest was partly excavated in the spring of 2004. A sherd of French 16th-century pottery found on the surface in 2003, along with the oval shape of the structures and drystone construction, hinted that the settlement could be of late medieval date. The work in 2004 consisted of clearing the moss from the walls of the structures, undertaking a contour survey of the vicinity, excavation within two of the structures (A and B), and excavation of two test trenches outside the structures.

The results showed that Structure A may originally have been a barn that had been sub-divided into three rooms, one of which contained a hearth and another a peat store. Structure B was a house and byre, Structure C was probably a stock enclosure, Structure D was another possible house and byre, Structure E was a sheep pen, Structure F was probably stock pens, and Structure G consisted of rubble surrounding a drain outflow.

The discovery of a second sherd of 16th-century French pottery and a green-glazed jug handle within Structure B, along with the absence of any later finds, confirmed the late medieval date for the site and suggest that the site went out of occupation by the 17th or early 18th century. The site may then have been used intermittently as a sheep farm, as lambing pens were inserted into the ruined structures and an enclosure (E) added.

There is no local memory of the site and it is not shown on the 1st edition OS map, which suggests that it had been forgotten by the mid-19th century.

Report lodged with WoSAS SMR and the NMRS.

Sponsors: HS, Forestry Commission, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Hunter Archaeological Trust.

H F James 2004.

NM 81397 00656 Site included in a field survey carried out by GUARD in 2003. It consists of four sub-rectangular structures, two enclosures and a possible kiln arranged around a central yard.

Heather F James, 2003 (RCAHMS MS 2371, no.39).