Drumcarrow Craig

NO41SE 2 c.454 133.

(A: NO 4547 1325; B: NO 4549 1324; C: NO 4550 1326; D: NO 4550 1327) Hut Circles (NR)

OS 25" map (1966)

An unenclosed settlement, comprising at least three stone-walled houses, occupies an elevated, but not markedly defensive, position on Drumcarrow Craig.

'A', the largest and best preserved, appeared, before excavation, as a penannular grass-covered bank about 1' in maximum height and 5' thick, enclosing an area 24' x 27'. Several large boulders belonging to the inner or outer face of the house wall projected through the turf in places, and the entrance, on the E, appeared to be about 6' in width. 'B', 40' E of 'A', appears to have been similar in construction, but is less well-preserved. It is represented by a slightly dished circular area c. 20' in diameter, with several large facing stones around the circumference.

'C', 20' NE of 'B', is similar to 'B' in size and and condition.

'D': To the N of 'B', and set on a little rocky shelf somewhat above

the level of the rest of the settlement, is a sub-circular platform, which may mark the site of a fourth house. This, however, resembles the stance of a timber hut rather than the ruins of a stone structure. Excavations were carried out on hut 'A' in 1962-3. They revealed a 6'

to 7' thick wall, consisting of massive inner and outer facing stones with a rubble core, enclosing an area 24' in diameter.

On the NE, lying against the outer face of the house wall are the vestiges of a rectilinear enclosure; all that remains is the W angle with two adjacent sides represented by boulders or massive stone

blocks. Most of the native pottery found came from within this enclosure, and it may possibly represent a working area similar to the 'kiln-house' discovered beside the aisled round house of Tigh Talamanta, Barra (NF60SE 2). As well as the 18 pottery fragments found (one of which is in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland {NMAS} - Accession no: HD 1840), a flint knife and flakes, and various hammer- or grinding-stones, were found. The finds are insufficient to date the house with any degree of accuracy, though

a date well into the 3rd century AD is suggested by comparison with other sites.

G S Maxwell 1969