Colonsay, Ardskenish

NR 34443 91218 The settlement at Ardskenish consists of a cluster of subrectangular house platforms and a series of cultivation ridges. While local tradition suggests occupation into the 18th century, little is known about the site chronology. Excavation focused upon two dwellings and a midden deposit, and took place during 4 days in May–June 2013, and 4 days in September 2013. This project was part of a broader island wide survey of the historical landscape of Colonsay, funded by the AHRC as part of its Heritage Research for Communities programme, and involved the University of Ulster, Queen’s University Belfast, Kilmartin House Museum, Historic Scotland and The National Trust for Scotland, working with the local community to investigate their historic past.

In the first house a 1 x 3m trench (Trench 1) was excavated over the entrance and into the interior of the dwelling. Finds included a white ball-clay tobacco pipe stem with a stem bore diameter indicative of the period 1650–80, a stone gaming piece, and a sherd of coarse pottery of probable Iron Age date found in the platform deposit underlying the structure. A 1m2 trench (Trench 2) placed between this dwelling and an adjacent structure was sterile. A 1.5 x 3m trench (Trench 3) was located in the interior of a second dwelling, uncovering an open hearth, characterised by an extensive ash spread and burned clay, adjacent to the N doorway on the long axis of the structure. The finds assemblage consisted of animal bones and nail fragments. A fourth 1m2 trench (Trench 4) was excavated outside of this structure, uncovering a thick midden deposit. The presence of cattle, sheep/goat, and poultry bones alongside fish and shellfish remains suggest the midden is associated with historic occupation. There were no diagnostic finds from the midden.

Archive: University of Ulster

Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Audrey Horning, Queen’s University Belfast and Wes Forsythe, University of Ulster, 2013

(Source: DES)