Ascoilemore

NC81SW 21 8167 1102.

(NC 8167 1102) Bronze Age Cist found AD 1939 (NAT)

OS 6" map, (1969)

A short cist containing an unornamented foot vessel was found in a little morainic mound about 10ft in height situated on the N edge of the meadowland adjoining the river and some 94 yards N of the road which traverses the Strath of Ascoilemore. It lies about 1100 yards E of the junction of the Black Water and the Brora River.

The mound presents the appearance of a definsive earthwork with a flat top measuring 83ft in diameter. It is protected on the northern side by a rampart 22ft wide at the bottom, with a ditch on either side. The inner ditch is 28ft wide at the top and measures 5ft deep, while the outer ditch is 12ft wide. The rampart and ditches are crescent-shaped. The hillock has been cut into for road surfacing material and consists of a mixture of coarse sand and gravel with occasional large broken boulders. The interior dimensions of the cist must have been about 3ft long, 18ins wide and 18ins deep.

J M Davidson 1940

There is no trace of the cist; its position was pointed out by Mrs Tyser (Gordonbush, Strathbrora, Sutherland) and surveyed at 1:10,560. She retains the food vessel.

The crescentic ditch and outer bank around the N arc of the mound are obviously artificial, but their purpose is uncertain. The position of the mound overlooked from the N, precludes it being defensive. It may be a result of quarrying associated with nearby early modern settlement. The impression of an 'outer ditch' (Davidson 1940) is formed by the hollow between the aforementioned "outer bank" and an early modern field wall.

Visited by OS (E G C) 30 April 1964.

No change since report of 30 April 1964.

Visited by OS (J B) 30 December 1975.