South Uist, Kildonan, Mill Loch

Dun, Loch Greanabreck (Loch a'Mhuilinn).

Some 50 yards from the north-west end of Loch Greanabreck, about 5½ miles north-west of Lochboisdale, is an island dun connected with the western side of the loch by a causeway, 135 feet long and 6 feet broad, which makes a slight northern curve in the outer half of its course. The island is possibly for the greater part artificial, and now appears as an oval mound of fallen stones, measuring 65 feet from east north-east to west-south-west, and 50 feet from north-north-west to south-south-east, rising to a height of 4 feet above the water. In no place is any building traceable, but the wall was built probably about 10 or 12 feet from the present water's edge.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 22 August 1914.

South Uist lv (unnoted).

This island was confirmed as a crannog during diving inspection undertaken in July 2022. Sherds of Neolithic pottery were retrieved from the loch bed.

Information from HES Archaeological Survey (A. Gannon) 25 August 2022

Loch na Muilne, located just south of the Kildonan Museum on South Uist, features an artificial islet in the northwest corner, connected to the shore by a 37m causeway. The islet, measuring approximately 17m by 20m and rising 1.8m above the current loch surface, is built of portable stones and sits on a coarse-grained sediment bed with fine-grained sediment on its northern side.

Snorkel and diver surveys revealed numerous Neolithic pottery sherds, including Hebridean Ware and Unstan-type vessels. Additional finds included fragments of roundwood and fibrous wood material, possibly organic matting, which could suggest timber use in the islet's construction. A submerged linear stone formation extending 9m from the islet's southeast quadrant was also noted and could be a later modification. While the surface of the islet also appears to show signs of later activity, possibly associated with the Iron Age, further investigation is required to resolve the chronology of this site.

Side scan sonar survey of the entire loch revealed that the island sits on a shallow bed, around 70 cm in depth and gradually deepens to over 25m to the east and southeast. Its proximity to a deepening area in the loch reflects a trend noted at other Neolithic crannogs. Given the abundance of materials and apparent activity at the site, further environmental work and non-invasive surveys are recommended to better understand the site's construction and use.

Information from Islands of Stone Project, July 2022

NF 8726 7470–NF 7463 1688 The 2022 field season for the Islands of Stone project set out to investigate a number of archaeological islets located in North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. The primary aim of this fieldwork was to identify datable material culture associated with crannogs (or artificial islands), with a particular focus on the Neolithic. The target sites were identified from a database of archaeological islets generated through a variety of means: evaluation of existing NRHE/HER records, data mining, machine learning and preliminary ground surveys carried out by the Uist Community Archaeology Group (UCAG). Most of the sites investigated were already recorded in the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) and/or Historic Environment Record (HER), but few had previously been surveyed in detail, with the majority having received only cursory investigation from the loch shore.

The 2022 field season managed to redress this limited knowledge by investigating 37 islets in 23 lochs. Twenty-five were previously known sites recorded in the NRHE/HER; the other 12 were ‘sites with potential’ newly identified through computer-based analysis of aerial imagery (machine learning).

Survey of all sites involved two primary aspects: above water and below water investigations. The primary means of investigation was in-water inspection. This was done on snorkel for shallower sites and on SCUBA for deeper sites by a team of five divers. When deemed useful and feasible, aerial (UAV) photogrammetry and LiDAR surveys, as well as on-islet in-person inspections, were conducted to provide further information regarding the nature and construction of each islet (and perhaps indications of period, if the surface supported structures). In total, Neolithic pottery was recovered from three lochs, and one new site (which produced Iron Age pottery) was identified. Numerous additional sites produced pottery (and other material culture) and/or organics that are still being analysed. More detailed reporting will be available once analysis is completed.

Previously-known sites visited (Grid Reference, Site Name,

Canmore ID):

NF 74696 75332, Eilean Domhnuill, 10069

NF 76612 74375, Loch nan Gearrachun, 10087

NF 76752 74189, Loch nan Gearrachun, 10076

NF 7678 7382, Loch nan Clachan, 10094

NF 8075 7266, Dun Eashader, 10375

NF 8726 7470, Oban Trumisgarry, 10353

NF 89076 74551, Dunan Dubh, 10367

NF 89309 74168, Loch an Duin, 10351

NF 89612 73914, Loch Bru, 10369

NF 8075 6450, Clachan, 10256

NF 8456 5757, Loch An Fhaing, 10191

NF 7985 4916, Gunisary Bay, 9922

NF 7969 4592, Loch an Daill, 9921

NF 76707 35686, Tobha Bheag, 270754

NF 76800 35678, Tobha Bheag, 270753

NF 76 30, Ormiclate, 9894

NF 74486 31154, Ormacleit, 270831

NF 7445 2723, Kildonan, 9846

NF 74824 25883, Loch Cnoc a’ Buidhe, 9826

NF 7427 1919, Eilean Chreamh, 9794

NF 7462 1907, Dun na Cille, 9788

NF 7468 1692, Loch an Eilean, 270796

NF 7463 1688, Loch an Eilean, 270812

NF 88885 73730, Dun Torcuill, 10364

NF 8430 6090, Dun Ban, 10261

Newly identified site (Grid Reference, Site Name, Canmore ID): NF 81130 48686, Ob Saile, 373291

Stephanie Blankshein, Duncan Garrow and Fraser Sturt – University of Southampton and University of Reading

(Source: DES Volume 23)

Measured survey of Mill Loch, Kildonan, crannog using survey-grade GNSS, ground and UAV photography with ground targets (for Structure from Motion). Information to follow.