Achnagonalin

NJ02NW 134 NJ 03241 26602

The remains of two large kilns are situated immediately NW of a municipal recycling plant about 330m N of Achnagonalin farmsteading. The kilns, which have been set side-by-side into the N face of an old river terrace, are now represented by two grass- and tree-grown hollows measuring up to 7m in diameter and 2m in depth, but the facings of the kiln-pots have collapsed and they probably originally measured about 5m in internal diameter and at least 4m in depth. The outside face of the kilns on the N and W have been revetted with drystone walling; on the W this walling still survives to a height of 2.5m though much of it has collapsed, but on the N only small patches of the top of the revetment are visible through the cover of rubble and vegetation.

The kilns are depicted on both the 1st and 2nd editions of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire 1874, sheet XXXV; 1903, sheet XXXV); on the latter they is annotated 'Old Kilns'. They may have replaced two smaller kilns (NJ02NW 133), the remains of which stand 40m to the SE.

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS) 24 October 2006.