Ulva, Soriby Bay

NM 4335 3975 (Area 1 – centred on) and NM 42298 39674 (Area 2 – centred on) A walkover survey was carried out 1 April–30 May 2011 in advance of woodland establishment schemes. The work was undertaken to assess the nature and extent of any archaeology likely to be affected by the scheme and to inform recommendations for the protection and management of any sites. The survey identified sites previously recorded by AOC Archaeology Group in 1998 and new sites relating to post-medieval settlement on the island.

The total number of sites identified and recorded during the walkover survey included 22 houses, 17 byres, 13 bothies, 2 kale yards, 28 shielings, 5 pens, 8 enclosures, 49 boundary walls, 49 areas of rig and furrow cultivation, 3 wells, 2 sheep fanks, 1 jetty, 1 track and numerous clearance cairns. The only prehistoric site of note was a previously recorded standing stone.

The density of the remains indicates a well preserved settlement system of regional importance including infrastructure associated with the cultivation and modification of the land. This includes a complex of small settlements, individual farmsteads, houses and their associated ancillary buildings, enclosures and cultivation plots, and shielings possibly relating to several phases of occupation.

The major settlements identified appear to relate to Soriby Bay and Aird Glass. Beyond the enclosures and areas of major settlement we did find the ephemeral remains of bothies, shielings and rock shelters that were probably associated with transhumance activities within the wider landscape. Some of this activity was centred on areas of enclosure, some of which may have consisted of areas of grazing for livestock, but which generally consisted of areas of rig and furrow cultivation. In addition to these sites, we did recover some evidence for the connectivity with the sea in the form of a jetty and cleared areas on the foreshore for boat landings.

Some of the areas of rig and furrow were enclosed with dry stone, and turf and stone dykes, while natural rock outcrops and escarpments had also been utilised within the enclosure system. The majority of the rigs or lazy beds appear to have been hand-dug, making use of the better quality ground, while the interspersed furrows would have provided drainage channels for water run-off. Clearance cairns were also identified associated with some of the improved land.

A complex of field boundaries and enclosure walls complete the archaeological record and indicate the phased division of the landscape through time. The walls were of dry stone, turf and stone construction, and varied significantly in their preservation, while some of the walls displayed good evidence for phasing.

Archive: RCAHMS and WoSAS (intended)

Funder: Ulva Estates, Mull

West Coast Archaeological Services, 2011

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The field visit identified seven structures. Six of these structures were clustered into a group, while the seventh lay some distance to the northeast. The structures were all drystone with rounded corners and none showed evidence for having had gables. The sizes of the structures ranged from 10m by 5m to 5m by 4m. The surviving walls were up to 1.4m high, although typically they were around 1m.

West Coast Archaeological Services, 2011