Skye, Unish

NG26NW 1.07 238 655.

The township is scattered over about 800m from NE to SW at the base of a terrace on the lower NW facing slopes of Healaval on the extreme N end of the peninsula of Waternish. The township displays no evident plan although there are five foci, which are separated by gaps of up to 200m at NG 238 655, NG 236 655, NG 236 656, NG 240 657 and NG 242 659.

There are 47 buildings and 15 enclosures in the township. It has at least fifteen farmsteads, identified by an enclosure and an attached long building (ie generally more than 10m long), although there may be other subsidiary buildings forming part of the complex. The enclosures include some which form yards encompassing the buildings (eg 332 and 337) and others which display a build-up of soil consonant with a garden (eg 312, 314). Amongst the farmsteads are four corn-drying kilns, which are built into the corner of subsidiary buildings (325, 334, 336, 339). Some 20 buildings are sub-divided into two compartments and two have three compartments. A number of buildings are terraced into the slope, both end-on and side-on (eg 285, 291) and entrances are generally located in the end-walls. Most buildings are round angled, with rubble-faced walls bonded by an earth and rubble core. They measure between 4.1m and 14.8m in length and stand up to 1.2m in height, where best preserved, with walls between 0.8m and 1.4m thick, with a distinct narrowing towards the top. In breadth they vary from 2.8m to 4.6m, there being no relation between length and breadth. At least two stack-stands (352, 353) were located on the edge of a natural terrace towards the W end of the township. Evidence of phasing and sequence was noted in at least four cases (303, 315, 316 and 325), of which building 303, standing 1.4m in height with squared internal angles, is built over a much-reduced structure with a possible corn-drying kiln in its SE corner. On the S side of the township is what may be a kiln-barn (308); set against a natural bank, it has a rounded S end and a squared N end with an overgrown heap, possibly a collapsed kiln, in the S end. At least four buildings (321, 335, 338, 341) are overlain by a drystone dyke which was built after the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map of 1880 (Island of Skye &c., Inverness-shire, 1880).

(WAT90 277-292, 303-343, 345-7, 349-353)

Visited by RCAHMS (PJD) 1 November 1990.