Prehistoric Round House Structures in Wester Ross, and in Selected Areas of Skye
Prehistoric Round House Structures in Wester Ross, and in Selected Areas of Skye Collation and Analysis of Detailed Data with regard to distribution, construction and landscape settings Anna Welti Undergraduate Dissertation University of Aberdeen Dept of Scottish Cultural Studies and Archaeology 2011 This research is dedicated to my father A.G. MacGregor, MC,DSc, FRSE Abstract The aim of this study was to understand the reasons behind the siting and structure of roundhouses in Wester Ross. Some existing records are detailed and some are very brief: inter‐ site comparisons cannot easily be made. The project was designed as a field survey to record roundhouses and their settings in detail. A database would be produced for future researchers. Sketches and photographs were to be included in the record, which was to be formatted in a manner acceptable to Highland Council HER and RCAHMS Canmore. Roundhouse sites proved more numerous than records had suggested, hence the areas in the study were limited to four; Achiltibuie, Gairloch & Poolewe, Badachro, and selected parts of Skye. The sites in other areas of Wester Ross, Lochalsh and part of Skye have been recorded to the same standard and will later be included in the database. The current database includes 234 roundhouse sites and around 100 fields. It was tested with a variety of queries. These produced some informative results about structure, entrance orientations, site locations, enclosures and field systems. Individual clusters of roundhouses were studied to examine whether site differences could indicate chronological depth. These results, together with information from site plots on both Ordnance and Geological maps, as well as from aerial photographs, have given interesting insights into roundhouses and their locations.
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