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Lewis, Airigh A' Sguir
Shieling Hut(S) (Post Medieval)
Site Name Lewis, Airigh A' Sguir
Classification Shieling Hut(S) (Post Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Loch A'sguir, Beehive
Canmore ID 72083
Site Number NB12SE 1
NGR NB 1638 2334
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/72083
- Council Western Isles
- Parish Uig
- Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
- Former District Western Isles
- Former County Ross And Cromarty
NB12SE 1 1638 2334.
A number of ruined shielings, built of peat moss sods and stones. {Name Book compiled 1851.} (OS 1:10,000 map, 1973 shows three stylised shieling-huts at NB 1633 2337, NB 1637 2333 and NB 1634 2326.)
Name Book 1851.
(Scheduled as Airigh a'Sguir, beehive shielings). The monument consists of a group of beehive shieling huts. These particular examples at Loch a'Sguair may be of considerable age although they may have been reused and repaired seasonally until the late 19th-century. Two huts are situated in a small valley sheltered between two outcrops. A third hut is located 70m to the SW of these in a more exposed location. There is another hut to the N. One of the central pair remains intact. Its corbelled roof still has a covering of turf. The building has an exterior kerb or "fosgarlan", a word derived from the Norse "for skali" meaning a porch. This is an extension of the main wall which projects outwards in a horseshoe shape to shield the low entrance in the SE from the direct force of the wind. Overall the exterior diameter of the structure is about 7m. The interior is solidly constructed on the lower courses. The stones are large, well fitted and there are small storage niches at regular intervals at ground level. The floor is of earth. The upper levels appear to have been repaired. The interior diameter is c.2.4m and the height at the centre is 1.7m. The other three huts are of similar drystone construction but are less well preserved. They lack their corbelled roofs and protective turf skins.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 6 April 1992.
What may be five unroofed shieling-huts, annotated as Ruins, and an enclosure are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Ross-shire, Island of Lewis 1854, sheet 30). Three unroofed buildings shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1973).
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 14 August 1997
Field Visit (20 June 2012)
A widely dispersed group of eight drystone shieling huts is situated in rough ground on the lower NE flank of Coltraisel Mor between 90m and 100m above sea level. Three are located in relatively open ground on either side of an unnamed tributary and the remaining huts are found in and around a concealed rocky cleft to the NE. One hut, (d) in this description, retains its turf covering.
The first hut (a) in open ground is at NB 16337 23359. Circular in plan the hut measures 2.3m in diameter within drystone walls 0.7m in thickness. The corbelled roof survives to a height of 1.9m, the remaining oval gap measuring about 1.4m by 0.9m. An entrance in the SE splays from 0.6m to 0.7m in width and is 0.5m in height, with a small opening or vent above. There are at least seven storage niches in the interior on two levels, the largest of which measures 0.45m in width by 0.55m in depth and 0.4m in height. A kerb up to 0.4m in height is visible around much of the exterior, which probably marked the edge of the turf roof, giving an overall wall thickness of about 0.9m.
A second and similar hut (b) lies 55m to the SE at NB 16382 23325. It measures about 2.3m in diameter within stone walls 0.7m in thickness and up to 1.6m in height, with a gap 1.7m in diameter in the corbelled roof. The entrance faces ESE and is 0.55m in width and 0.6m in height. Of six storage niches, the largest is 0.5m in width, 0.7m in height and 0.6m in depth. An outer kerb is visible. A third much-altered hut (c) lies on the other side of the burn 107m S of the first at NB 116349 23253.
About 100m to the E of the first hut there is a concealed rocky cleft. Within this there are five further huts, three of which are visible as footings only. The best preserved hut of the whole group (d) lies at NB 16451 23369. Circular in plan it measures 2.4m in internal diameter within stone walls up to 0.7m in thickness. The corbelled roof survives complete giving an internal height of 2m and is broken only by a smoke hole 0.2 square in the centre. The entrance faces to the ESE and measures 0.45m in width and 0.6m in height. There are 5 niches at 3 levels within the interior, the largest of which is 0.8m wide, 0.55m high and 0.6m deep. The building is set into the slope at the NW and an external covering of turfsurvives up to 0.8m in height at the N. A slight curvilinear wall at the NE of the entrance may be a protective baffle, referred to as a 'fosglan' in 1992. A turf and stone bank at the S and SW may be part of an earlier structure.
Another hut (e) lies close by at NB 16462 23371, and is set into the slope at the W. Oval in plan, it measures 2.7m from N to S by 1.9m transversely within walls up to 1m in thickness and up to 1.1m in height, incorporating large earth-fast boulders in places. Six niches are visible in the collapsed interior, the largest measuring 0.45m wide, 0.3m high and 0.5m deep.
The footings of three further huts lie at NB 16460 23364 (f), NB 16478 23373 (g) and NB 16455 23347 (h).
Five or possibly six huts are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map annotated Airidh a Sguir Ruins (Ross-shire (Isle of Lewis) Sheet 30, 1854). Two of the huts were photographed by RCAHMS in the early 20th century and appear in the Inventory as Figs. 8 and 9 (1928, facing xxxviii). Huts (a-c) are depicted on current OS maps.
Visited by RCAHMS (GFG) and Jill Harden 20 June 2012
Measured Survey (2 October 2012 - 3 October 2012)
A plan and section of the most well-preserved shieling hut ((d), NB 16451 23369) was produced.
Visited by RCAHMS (PJD, GFG), 2-3 October 2012.
