Archaeological Sites Record

Recorder name Gordon Sleight, Bill badger, Laura hamlet and others

Date record made 25 November 2014

General location / township name Achmore, Assynt

GPS NC24115 24995 Elevation 150m

Any previous record known ( Homes survey, OS, HER, NRMS etc) Homes map of main Achmore settlement and also - HER MHG12109 NMRS NC22SW9 Kerbed Cairn and rectangular foundation

Type of site, description, dimensions, associated features etc

Kerbed Cairn and Pre Clearance Long-house An arc of four large stones around a turf covered stony mound with a 4m square foundation behind it have been recorded before with the arc being described as a kerbed cairn or remnant of curvilinear dyke. But there is more to note - the mound and arc are on a markedly higher outcrop than the surrounding land and it is difficult to see how the arc relates to anything of the remnant dykes on the lower ground and the stones in the arc are all quartzite rather than local limestone, thus the identification as a Kerbed Cairn remains is plausible. The rectangular foundation to the NW is a much larger feature than previously recorded - 15.3m x 8.4 externally and thus most likely a pre-clearance longhouse built into the shelter of the cairn mound and thus one of very few longhouse foundations surviving the post clearance improvements around Achmore Farm. A probable roundhouse lies further to the NW (see separate record entry)

Context - surrounding terrain, proximity to water source, views from site etc

site high on a south facing slope with glorious views to Loch Assynt and the Loanan valley and within the fields of the pre clearance Achmore as recorded by Home. Many of the features lower down the slope and closer to the main Farmstead have been more systematically removed (eg the Chambered Cairn MHG 12105, NMRS NC22SW4 which could be the great Dun removed to create offices as recorded in the First Statistical Account, Dun applying to almost all mound like features at the time). There is a small burn immediately to the NE of the of the longhouse which disappears into the limestone just SW of the house and cairn.

Additional information

The Kerbed Cairn's appearance, site, size and use of quartzite are comparable to those recorded elsewhere in Assynt

Adds sketches, plans with orientation and note of any photographs taken overleaf