Armadale Burn

NC76SE 1 centred 7964 6409.

(NC 7964 6409) Hut Circle (NR)

OS 6" map, (1963)

A small, mutilated hut circle found during field investigation.

Visited by OS (W D J) 25 April 1960.

This hut circle, situated against the base of a low rocky ridge, is 6.5m in diameter within a turf-covered stone wall, 0.5m maximum height and 1.3m estimaated breadth. Occasional slabs on edge indicating both inner and outer faces are visible. The entrance of simple form in the E arc, is flanked by three portal stones, one displaced, indicating a width of 0.7m. Two small clearance heaps piled upon living rock close by the hut are the only signs of associated cultivation.

Revised at 1/10,000.

Visited by OS (N K B) 15 July 1977.

Other hut circles, enclosures, walls and field clearance heaps occur in the vicinity of this hut circle.

'B' NC 7974 6401. A grass-covered hut circle, 13m in diameter, with walls 2m thick. Two upright stones occur at the possible entrance, and stones are also visible in the bank.

'C' NC 7979 6393. A grass-covered hut circle, 10m by 9m, with stones visible in the bank and a doubtful entrance in the S.

'D' NC 7960 6396. A possible platform settlement consisting of three scooped platforms, 6m in diameter, with an associated field system. Enclosures occur at :-

NC 7963 6406. Rectangular, very indistinct, 2.5m N-S by 17m across.

NC 7978 6373. Rectangular, 14m NW-SE by 5m across, with the NW side missing.

NC 7980 6381. Sub-circular 20m by 16m, with a stony bank 0.25m high. Walls occur at :-

NC 7982 6408. 70m long N-S by 1m thick.

NC 7992 6383. 40m long N-S, Im thick and one course high.

NC 7963 6395. 45m long NE-SW, 1m thick, in poor condition.

NC 7975 6396. 70m long NE-SW and 1m thick.

NC 7978 6390. 70m long, 1m thick and built of large single blocks.

NC 7981 6372. 1m long NW-SE, 1m thick, of large stones, grass-covered. NC 7975 6380. 40m long NE-SW, 1m thick, with no stone visible but a definite turf bank following an outcrop of rock.

As well as the field system associated with 'D', clearance heaps extend from NC 7965 6416 to NC 7972 6416, with an outlier at NC 7986 6415.

R J Mercer 1981.

Apart from the hut circle published by OS, there are two further examples (B and C noted by Mercer at NC 7976 6402 and NC 7982 6393 respectively). The area is one of rocky ridges and grassy valleys.

Hut 'B' measures 7.7m in diameter within a turf-covered wall surviving to a height of 0.3m. Intermittent wall facing stones are exposed indicating a thickness fo 2.2m. There is a single portal stone at the entrance in the SE arc. Some 3.0m outside the entrance are two upright slabs, 0.9m and 0.7m high and 0.8m apart; these may be portal stones of a forecourt to the hut circle which has largely disappeared.

Hut C is as described and planned by Mercer. 'D', is 'possibly a platform settlement' cannot be located; the only 'platforms' identified are natural terraces.

There are a number of stone clearance heaps fringing cleared ground in the vicinity of the hut circles which appear to be contemporary, but subsequent land use of the early modern period has obscured the original pattern of field plots. The enclosures, walls and some of the clearance heaps described by Mercer date from this recent period but not all the features noted can be identified individually.

Huts B and C surveyed at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS (N K B) 12 August 1981.

Area surveyed by AOC (Scotland) Ltd in advance of proposed upgrading of the A 836 road.

Sponsor: Highland Regional Council.

J O'Sullivan 1994c.

NC 798 639 (centre) The excavation of 20 trenches was conducted across a suite of archaeological sites prior to the upgrading of the A836 road from Lednagualin to Ben Ainnie in November and December 1995. Previous survey of the area by R Mercer in 1981 ( NMRS NC76SE 001) and subsequently by AOC (Scotland) Ltd (O'Sullivan 1994) identified a number of sites lying within the projected road corridor. A specification from Highland Regional Council listed the particular sites that were to be examined based on the 1994 survey results: three hut circles; a circular structure; three dykes; three clearance cairns; an arable area; two areas of peat deposits; four trackways; and an old road designed by Thomas Telford in 1803. The total excavation of a hut circle (Site 3, Mercer?s Site 146) lying directly on the road line formed the focus of the project. Site numbers below are those listed by O'Sullivan.

The hut circle (Site 3; NC 7983 6393) was penannular in plan, with an external diameter of c 13m and an internal diameter of 7.6m. The walls measured c 2.5m wide and survived in three quadrants to a height of c 1.2m maximum. The walls widened to 4.4m at the entrance, delineating a narrow entrance-passage 1.2m wide. The wall of the hut circle in the SE quadrant was present only in a very denuded state, but had been cut into and revetted against the slope of the hill.

Two phases of use were apparent from the internal deposits; these phases were probably separated by a conflagration event. The primary phase was represented by a central hearth, a number of internal features, and a c 2m wide cobbled entrance-passage. The central hearth was encircled by a concentric ring of stone settings representing post-pads for the positioning of timber uprights. In addition to these were a number of post-holes, stake-holes and pits. Two curvilinear slots were located in the NE and SE quadrants which appear to represent a hurdle facing to the wall in these quadrants. An internal linear slot, representing an internal hurdle partition wall, was also located running from the entrance-way to a post-hole W of the hearth.

The second phase of occupation was less definite and was represented by a narrowing of the entrance-passage and the laying of paving stones over the primary cobbling within the entrance area. A charcoal layer was sealed between the paving and cobbling and also extended into the interior of the structure. A tentative third phase of use was possibly represented by the robbing of the wall in the SE quadrant and the partial infilling of the entrance-passage. The finds from this structure mainly consist of pottery and coarse stone tools.

Trial excavation in the two adjacent hut circles (Mercer?s 138, NC 796 641; and 141, NC 797 640) has hopefully provided samples suitable for radiocarbon dating and hence assessing an association with Site 3. The excavations discounted the presence of a smaller circular structure located during survey (Site 5; NC 7980 6391) and have characterised the differing preservation and structural complexities of the other sites investigated. The dykes investigated proved to have little or no structure to them and did not contain deposits suitable for providing radiocarbon dating. The clearance cairns examined did not show any structural complexity and were not observed to be sealing indications of earlier tillage. A single stratified flint flake may be indicative of a prehistoric date for these clearance heaps but cannot be considered conclusive.

All of the trackways excavated proved to have little or no structure to them, and none of them contained finds or samples suitable for dating. Excavation across Telford?s road (Site 10; NC 7971 6387) revealed a single phased metalled surface located on a causeway of redeposited clay and revetted by a clay bank to the N. No finds or samples suitable for dating were collected. Excavation on the arable areas failed to provide any archaeological evidence for agricultural practices on these areas.

A palaeoenvironmental assessment of the peat deposits has shown that the temporal relationship of the peat deposits to the archaeological evidence in the area can be established.

A Data Structure Report has been produced; a copy has been lodged with the NMRS.

Sponsor: Highland Regional Council Roads & Transport Department (now Highland Council Transport Service).

R Strachan 1996