South Uist, Loch An Athain, An Carra
Standing Stone (Prehistoric)
Site Name South Uist, Loch An Athain, An Carra
Classification Standing Stone (Prehistoric)
Canmore ID 9886
Site Number NF73SE 1
NGR NF 7703 3211
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/9886
- Council Western Isles
- Parish South Uist
- Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
- Former District Western Isles
- Former County Inverness-shire
NF73SE 1 7703 3211.
(NF 7703 3211) An Carra (NR)
OS 6" map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)
An Carra is a standing stone 17' high, 4 3/4' broad and 2' thick. Its width is regular for more than half its height, after which it tapers towards the top.
RCAHMS 1928; Information from AO archive 930/3.
As described above.
Visited by OS (N K B) 13 May 1965.
Field Visit (24 August 1914)
Standing Stone, An Carra, Beinn a' Charra.
On the western shoulder of Beinn a' Charra, commanding an extensive view of the flat machair land on the western part of South Uist, barely 500 yards east of the tenth milestone north of Lochboisdale, at an elevation of 200 feet above sea-level, is a fine monolith facing the north-west. It is of regular width for rather more than half its height, after which it tapers towards the top, the height being about 17 feet, the breadth 4 feet 9 inches, and the thickness 2 feet. It slants slightly towards the south-east.
RCAHMS 1928, visited 24 August 1914.
OS map: South Uist liii.
Project (6 September 2005 - 8 September 2005)
Scottish and Southern Electricity Plc commissioned SUAT Ltd to undertake an archaeological walkover survey on the route of overhead power cables running from Drimore to North Glendale on the island of South Uist, Western Isles. The survey was to be conducted in advance of refurbishment of the poles supporting the power cables, commencing at NGR NF 7690 4035 and proceeding southwards over a distance of approximately 25km. The work (SUAT site code SU01) was undertaken during the period 6th-8th September 2005 in varying weather conditions including both bright sunshine and rain squalls.
The requirement was to evaluate those sections of the line where groundworks or vehicle access would be necessary, assessing the possible impact of the work on known or previously unrecorded archaeological sites, as well as locating and describing the latter. Four previously unrecorded sets of features were noted on known sites, while a mitigation strategy agreed with SSE ensured that the refurbishment work was able to proceed without disturbance or damage to the archaeology of South Uist.
SUAT Ltd. 2005
Archaeological Evaluation (December 2007)
NF 7712 3212 An evaluation was undertaken in December 2007 before the upgrading of the WTW close to the standing stone An Carra (SAM 888, RCAHMS NF73SE 1). Four trenches were excavated covering 125m². Part of the site had been disturbed by modern construction and the remainder contained peat to a depth of 0.6 – 1.3m. No archaeological remains were recorded and no finds were recovered.
Archive: RCAHMS and Western Isles SMR (intended).
Report: With client and RCAHMS
Funder: Jacobs Ltd
Ian Suddaby (CFA Archaeology Ltd), 2008
