Clashnessie
Township (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Clashnessie
Classification Township (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 89527
Site Number NC03SE 6
NGR NC 055 308
NGR Description Centred NC 055 308
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/89527
- Council Highland
- Parish Assynt
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Sutherland
- Former County Sutherland
NC03SE 6.00 centred 055 308
NC03SE 6.01 0558 3083 horizontal mill
A township comprising fifty roofed and ten unroofed buildings is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, sheet lviii). There are one or two subdivisions within arable areas which may be the first stages of the laying out of plots or crofts.
Twenty-four roofed, two partially roofed and twenty-one unroofed buildings are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10,560 map (1969).
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 4 September 1995.
Field Visit (August 2019 - September 2019)
NC 04796 30228 to NC 05590 30809 A desk-based assessment and walkover survey were carried out in advance of replacement of water mains and associated works, through the historic township of Clashnessie. The work was undertaken, August to September 2019, to assess the nature and extent of any archaeological sites likely to be affected within the areas outlined for the proposed development works and pipeline route and in order to inform recommendations for the protection and management of any sites recovered.
The desk-based assessment identified a number of archaeological sites in close proximity to the proposed works, and within the surrounding landscape outside the township. The walkover survey recorded 25 sites along the length of the pipeline route including buildings, enclosures, boundary and enclosure dykes, clearance cairns and areas with relict cultivation, of probable post-medieval date. Some of the buildings and enclosures and field walls/dykes can be tied to features shown on the 1st and 2nd Edition 6-inch OS mapping. The houses and byres were concentrated within the core area of the historic township, around 250-300m SE of the high tide mark in Clashnessie Bay, which is in agreement with the historic mapping in this area.
Many of these buildings were ruinous or much degraded, while others display a more extended life being used as outhouses or workshops. It also appears that some of the older structures have been heavily robbed of their stone, with other buildings modified significantly to house septic tanks.
The settlement remains recorded on the ground during the walkover survey revealed at least two phases of development; especially the enclosure walls. Amorphous shaped enclosures, which were much denuded, had been superseded by larger enclosures in some areas. Mitigation measures were proposed to safeguard the sites during the establishment of the proposed works, with much of the pipeline route following the line of an existing main.
Archive: Highland Council HER and NRHE (intended)
Funder: Scottish Water
Steven Birch - West Coast Archaeological Services
(Source: DES Vol 20)
