Rona, Toa Rona

There are about 120 stands for stacking peats or turfs on Tobha Ronaidh, the headland forming the eastern end of Rona (HW 8176 3225 to 81497 32043). In addition there are the remains of one old dyke contouring round the summit and others dropping down the slope on the E, SE, S and W respectively. Eight of the stands are shown on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Ross-shire, Island of Lewis 1854, sheet 47), three of them simply identified as piles of stones and five as unroofed structures, the latter previously recorded under HW 83SW 4.

The old dykes on the headland probably represent several periods of construction, and in its latest configuration the one contouring around the W and S of the summit area from the cliff-edge on the N (HW 81708 32338) probably turns down the slope on the SE (HW 81798 32187), dropping away to meet the coastal cliffs after a further 120m (HW 81870 32085). At the point where it turns, however, traces of a scarp can be seen continuing around the eastern flank of the headland and climbing slightly up the slope to peter out on the lip of a gully on the cliff-edge below and E of the lighthouse (HW 81807 32281), suggesting that at some stage the whole summit area was enclosed. Some 40m short of the cliffs on the NE it also intersects another bank dropping down the slope from a point about 10m E of the helipad (HW 81784 32250) and disappearing on the cliffs to the ESE (HW 81874 32197). The relationship at the junction (HW 81812 32238) is not altogether certain; the upper arm of the bank dropping down the slope apparently crosses the terrace formed by the contouring scarp, but the suggestion of a slight stagger at the junction implies that it may not have been conceived as a continuous boundary running down to the cliffs; this may account for a second junction some 15m further down the slope with a bank which contours northwards to the cliff-edge (HW 81828 32229 to 81822 32306). The construction of the lighthouse and the helipad have destroyed any junction that may have existed between the upper arm of the bank dropping down the slope and yet another bank that extends southwards down the crest of the eastern flank of the headland (HW 81763 32265 to 81758 32192), and indeed with a bank that can be seen dropping down to the W to peter out just above the dyke contouring round the W flank of the summit area (HW 81759 32270 to 81695 32285). The bank running S peters out on a series of outcrops, though a line of intermittent boulders on the slopes below suggests that it too may have originally dropped down to the cliffs. If so, it has been heavily robbed and the only sector that possibly survives is incorporated into the E side of a small enclosure at the foot of the outcrops (HW 81763 32167). Roughly rectangular, the enclosure is probably a small fold, measuring 7.5m from N to S by 5.2m transversely within a wall largely made up of a row of boulders. Some of these have been robbed from the contouring dyke, which has been incorporated into its uphill side. The sequence of construction here is completed by the robbing of the W wall of the fold to build at its SW corner what is either a square stance or possibly a bothy measuring some 2.7m across overall.

The inferred sequence of construction here is repeated across the headland and no less than fifteen stands have been built over the remains of four of the dykes. As elsewhere on the island, the stands are variously circular, square and rectangular. They are mainly concentrated on the south-western slopes of the headland and are accompanied by numerous minor scars where the shallow peat and turf has been cut away, particularly on what appear to be the wetter W-facing slopes. Typically they form small platforms flush with the uphill side, where they tend to merge into the slope, though in one or two small upright stones define this edge. The smaller of them are circular and square, some measuring no more than 1.5m across, but the larger of the circular examples are between 3m and 3.5m in diameter and have prominent kerbs of piled up stones up to 0.8m high, with occasional evidence of a low kerb of upright stones around the uphill side. More often than not, however, the only stones visible protrude through the turf at the foot of the platform. Likewise the rectangular examples, the larger of which measure between 4.3m and 4.7m in length by 3.3m and 2m in breadth respectively, again with kerbs of piled up stones rising 0.7m high around the leading edge of the platform. In one case a rectangular stance has the appearance of a cairn measuring 2.9m in length by 2.7m in breadth and up to 0.7m in height (HW 81673 32082). In a few cases the platform seems to form a grassy tump rising above its uphill side, and these may represent the remains of the stack left in place. Whether the differences in shape and form that have been noted reflect different functions or dates is unknown, but in one case where a circular and rectangular stance occur contiguously, the circular one seems to have been robbed to build its well-preserved rectangular neighbour, which measures 3.4m in length by 3m in breadth over a kerb comprising one sector of revetment wall up to 0.7m high and elsewhere a few upright stones (HW 81680 32160).

Visited by RCAHMS (SH, DCC) 2 July 2009