Abhainn Nan Leac

NG51NW 70 5282 1895

NG 5282 1895 A dispersed group of 5 stone built shielings. Comprising:

1). A twin cell, figure of eight shieling with a south cell which measures 4.0m in diameter over walls 0.7m thick. A possible entrance faces to the west. The north cell measures 3.0m in diameter over walls 0.6m thick. There is no obvious connecting entrance between the two cells.

2). 18.0m to the north of 1 and set against a low rock face, is a small 'U' shaped pen which measures 1.6m deep and 3.0m wide over walls 0.6m thick. There is no obvious entrance. The interior is filled with grassed over rubble.

3). 11.0m to the north-west of 1 and hidden by rushes are the faint remains of a rectangular stone cell which measures 4.2m by 3.0m overall.

4). 12.0m to the south of 1 are the foundations of a sub-circular stone cell which measures 3.6m in overall diameter.

5). 25.0m to the south of 1 is a second figure of eight shieling set into the hillside on an east to west alignment. The remains are very tumbled. The east cell measures 2.0m in diameter over walls 0.6m thick. The west cell is ruined. No door openings are visible.

NG 5236 1894 A single cell stone shieling which has part collapsed down the slope. The measurable remains indicate that the cell measured 4.0m long by 3.8m wide over walls 0.8m thick.

NG 5237 1898 A possible single stone shieling. The site is part covered by spoil from the quarry.

NG 5212 1895 Shielings (7) - A loose group of turf and stone shielings lying on the flood plain at the junction of two burns.

1). Central to the group is a large multi-cell shieling comprising 3 cells in a line, the northern cell measures 1.5m in diameter, the central cell measures 2.3m by 2.6m and the southern cell measures 2.6m by 1.8m. All have walls 0.5m thick, the southern end of this structure overlies the remains of an earlier 3.0m diameter cell.

2). 10.0m to the north-west of 1 is a 2.5m diameter cell which has lost its south side to the burn. This has revealed a clean section of the shieling.

3). 7.0m to the north of 1 is a 4.0m diameter cell with walls 0.6m thick.

4) 20.0m to the north-east of 1 is 2.0m diameter cell.

5). 40.0m to the north-east of 1 on the other side of the burn is a small stone pen 4.0m square set against the base of a small drumlin.

6). 39.0m to the north-west of 1 on the far bank of the burn is a 2.5m diameter cell.

7). And 23.0m beyond 6 is a 3.2m diameter cell.

All are in poor condition and in many cases it is impossible to distinguish wall widths.

Martin Wildgoose, George Kozikowski and Steven Birch, 1997.