Allt Ceann A'bheithe
Cairnfield (Prehistoric), Enclosure (Period Unknown), Hut Circle(S) (Prehistoric)
Site Name Allt Ceann A'bheithe
Classification Cairnfield (Prehistoric), Enclosure (Period Unknown), Hut Circle(S) (Prehistoric)
Canmore ID 6686
Site Number NC82NW 15
NGR NC 8360 2515
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/6686
- Council Highland
- Parish Kildonan
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Sutherland
- Former County Sutherland
Field Visit (21 February 1977)
NC82NW 15 836 251.
(NC 8360 2515) Unannotated circle.
OS 6"map, (1962)
This is a stone-walled hut circle ('A') with another of contrasting construction ('B') close by. They are situated above a burn junction on a gentle N-facing slope. 'A', set slightly into the slope, is 9.0m in diameter within a wall defined by intermittent inner facing stones. The wall, spread to 3.0m in the W, enlarges o 4.5m at the entrance in the E. A depression in the wall's centre, visible for a few metres on the SW side of the entrance indicates the double wall construction of the hut. 'B' is of significantly smaller size. It measures 5.0m in diameter within a heather-covered bank spread to 1.5m; the entrance is in the E. A minor field system defined by clearance heaps about 20m apart surrounds the huts.
Surveyed at 1:10 560.
Visited by OS (JB) 21 February 1977
Field Visit (7 March 1991)
A hut-circle and an enclosure are set amongst a scatter of small cairns to the SSE of the confluence of the Allt Ceann a'Bheithe and an unnamed tributary, which has been recut as a drain, bisecting some of the cairns.
A. NC 8360 2515 This hut-circle measures 8.3m in diameter within a stone-faced bank 2.6m in thickness and 0.5m in height. The entrance is on the E and there is a band of stones running into the centre of the interior from the W arc of the bank. There is a distinct groove along the centre of the bank to the S.
(KILD91 32)
B. NC 8360 2517 This enclosure measures 8.5m from NE to SW by 7.6m transversely within a turf bank 2.6m in thickness and 0.3m in height. There is a distinct step in the level of the interior.
(KILD91 33)
The ridge on which the hut-circle sits is littered with cairns measuring up to 7m in diameter and 0.5m in height. Several have been cut by the drain which runs across the ridge towards the northern edge of the cairns.
Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 7 March 1991.