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An Archaeological Survey of the Parish

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An Archaeological Survey of the Parish Historic Assynt Assy�t’sAn archaeological Hidden survey of the parish Lives Graeme Cavers & Gemma Hudson with contributions by Malcolm Bangor-Jones, John Barber, Robin Noble and Gordon Sleight The Assynt Hidden Lives Project Assynt’s Hidden Lives An Archaeological Survey of the Parish Graeme Cavers & Gemma Hudson with contributions by Malcolm Bangor-Jones, John Barber, Robin Noble and Gordon Sleight Historic Assynt 2 The Assynt Hidden Lives Project Table of Contents Contents The Assynt Hidden Lives Project 5 Aims of the Hidden Lives Survey 6 Project Methodology 7 The Assynt Landscape 8 Geology and Geomorphology 8 Historic Map Sources 10 Regional patterns 12 Earlier Prehistory 12 The Neolithic Cairns of Assynt 13 Other Cairns 15 Later prehistory and early history 16 The medieval period 20 Post-medieval and modern activity 21 Late Medieval and Early Modern building developments in Assynt 22 Lairds and Factors 22 Houses of Tacksmen and Subtenants 23 Small Tenants 24 Study Area 1: Glenleraig 27 Study Area 2: Inchnadamph 34 Study Area 3: Lyne and Ledbeg 43 Study Area 4: Knockan 50 Study Area 5: Loch Borralan 54 Discussion: Assynt’s Hidden Lives 58 References 60 Survey Gazetteer 3 The Assynt Hidden Lives Project Preface Historic Assynt was created in the 1990’s to investigate, deserted townships and farmsteads of the last few hundred conserve and interpret Assynt’s built heritage. Its first years. Almost immediately it became apparent that far project was focussed around Inchnadamph, the historic more remains had survived than previously recognised centre of the parish. The redundant Old Parish Kirk and that in many cases much earlier features could also was becoming ruinous, and the remains of Assynt’s two be detected. At the same time it undertook a feasibility former Laird’s residences, Ardvreck Castle and Calda study into the possibilities for future investigation and House, were in danger of partial collapse. The project was conservation of the important Iron Age Broch at Clachtoll, highly successful and the conservation work on all three which has resulted in the development of a stabilisation structures was completed by 2006. Subsequently the plan and suggestions for future investigation. churchyard walls and the burial vault of the MacLeods of Assynt, which is in the churchyard, were also conserved. Both these initiatives resulted in a growing awareness of Interpretative displays and booklets were also created, very extensive nature of settlement remains of all periods and the Old Kirk has become a valued community across Assynt and the general lack of systematic study resource. that they have received. The Hidden Lives Project was devised as a first step towards a better understanding of Once the bulk of the Inchnadamph Project was completed what survives, an opportunity for the local community to Historic Assynt began to turn its attention to other become involved in that investigation and as a springboard historically or archaeologically significant remains within for further work in the future. the parish. It joined the ‘Scotland’s Rural Past’ scheme being promoted nationwide by the Royal Commission for the Archaeological and Historic Monuments of Scotland Robin Noble (RCAHMS) and began to survey some of the many Gordon Sleight Acknowledgements Large collaborative projects such at the Hidden Lives memory and particularly challenging conditions for much Survey invariably involve the dedicated support of a large of the project. They were ably assisted in the field by number of people. Of course, the fund-raising work of volunteers David Allen, Jonie Guest, Mandy Haggith, Marc Gordon Sleight, Robin Noble and other members of Historic Monro, James Morrison, Robin Noble, Bill Ritchie, Gordon Assynt was the basis for everything achieved during this Sleight, Lesley Sleight, Scottie Sutherland, Andrew Taylor project, and their tireless enthusiasm for all aspects of the and Andrew Whelan. The enthusiasm of these volunteers, survey was the foundation of the Hidden Lives programme. and of the many attendees at the project seminars and Chris Rix managed the financial aspects meticulously, and meetings, was a constant source of encouragement; the project was consistently guided by the advice and it is hoped that the Hidden Lives project paves the way mentorship of Pat Buchanan and Andy Heald. Without for further collaborative community archaeological their commitment to the ethos of community archaeology, programmes in this fascinating part of Scotland. none of this work would have taken place. The field survey supervisors, Vicky Clements, Alan Duffy and Alan Hunter-Blair deserve particular thanks, having GC & GH, May 2010 endured surveying in one of the harshest winters in recent Cartographic data used in this report was derived from the Ordnance Survey OS OpenData, Crown Copyright. 4 The Assynt Hidden Lives Project Introduction The Assynt Hidden Lives Project prehensive outreach and training programme accom- panied the archaeological work. This ranged from a project launch weekend, hosted in Lochinver by members of Historic Assynt, where a series of semi- The Assynt Hidden Lives Project was conceived in or- nars were held considering the nature of Sutherland’s der to address the limited state of our knowledge of archaeology from the earliest prehistory to the pres- the archaeology of the parish. Assynt and the rest of ent. This initiation event allowed interested volunteers north-west Sutherland has long been recognised as from within Assynt and beyond, from beginners to ex- an area with a rich archaeological resource, yet due perienced archaeologists become acquainted with the to the relatively low level of archaeological fieldwork in most interesting aspects of Assynt’s archaeology and the area that archaeology is rather poorly understood. to begin considering questions for future research. In line with the aspirations of Historic Assynt to inves- tigate and develop the heritage resource of the par- During the fieldwork stages, the survey team from ish and present the history of the area to the visiting AOC Archaeology were joined by volunteers from the public, the Hidden Lives Project (HLP) was designed local community and further afield, giving local people to assess the archaeological resource of the region, the opportunity to work alongside the archaeological to provide a platform for an improved archaeological survey team, recording their heritage. As part of the understanding of the resource and to record key rep- community outreach programme, regular updates on resentative sites. the progress of the project were submitted to the local press, and a daily diary was kept by the field team and The project was designed with three key phases. The posted on the project website. first comprised a desk-based assessment of the exist- ing archaeological records for the area and the compi- In parallel with the archaeological programme, the lation of a master database upon which the field pro- project included an education programme and vis- gramme could be based. Secondly, a walkover survey its were made to local schools to introduce Assynt’s targeting all of the known sites within the study area schoolchildren to the types of archaeological site was carried out. This phase of the project looked to found in their region. A teachers pack was compiled, assess each of the sites visited on their archaeological based on the work of the archaeological programme, value and interest, level of preservation and ‘legibility’ to assist teachers in delivering future lessons on the as well as considering aspects relevant to visitor ex- archaeology of northern Scotland. perience, such as aesthetic value and physical acces- sibility. The third phase of the project involved detailed The final outcome of the project was a small touring topographic surveys of a representative cross-section exhibition, presenting the results of the field survey, of sites throughout the study area, aiming to record shown in visitor and community centres around the good examples of sites from across the chronologi- parish as a further means of dissemination of the re- cal range of Assynt’s archaeology. This phase of the sults and providing an introduction for visitors to the project involved a range of survey techniques, from area to Assynt’s archaeology. plane table survey to laser scanning, with any given approach chosen to most appropriately record the im- The Hidden Lives project was an archaeological sur- portant features of the site in a suitable level of detail. vey designed by the local community, for the local community, and the principle of inclusion, outreach and dissemination sets a precedent to which more archaeological programmes can aspire in future. The Community Archaeology model of collaborative archaeology is one which it is hoped can be used as the foundation for further, more The ethos of the Hidden Lives Project was for com- detailed studies of Assynt’s field archaeology. munity involvement from the beginning, and a com- 5 The Assynt Hidden Lives Project Figure 1: Assynt: topography and locations of settlements. Aims of the Hidden Lives Survey for studies of landscape development through time, plotting the changing course of settlement patterns through prehistory and history. This report aims to provide an introduction to these studies, mapping key Perhaps best known for its geology and areas of out- sites and study areas, and introducing patterns visible standing natural beauty, Assynt has also been recog- in the currently recorded data. nised
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