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Archaeological Field Survey of the Bhaltos (Valtos) Peninsula, Lewis

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Archaeological Field Survey of the Bhaltos (Valtos) Peninsula, Lewis Proc SocAntiq Scot, (1994)4 12 , 67-93, fiche 1:A4-G5 Archaeological field survey of the Bhaltos (Valtos) peninsula, Lewis lan Armit* with contributions by Steve Dockrill, Tim Neighbour, Jim Pocock & lan Simpson illustrationd an , Martiy sb n Wilson ABSTRACT This report describes resultsarchaeologicalthe an of field Bhaltossurveythe of peninsulain Lewis. results The assessed are light the in of both older research continuingthe and programmes of excavation palaeoenvironmentaland analysis area. examplesthe The in distributionsand of various site-types provide a comparison with more general models recently proposed for settlement in the Western Isles and appear to suggest a series of settlement discontinuities in the Iron Age, Norse and medieval periods. detaileThe d resultfieldworthe sof k (illus 16-30 presente)are microfichedon arrangeare and ,din section followss a s : gazettee f sites o rmachaie th ; r system Bhaltoe th f o s s peninsula; geophysical survey; analysi f soiso l thin-sections from sit; lis f threatenee35 to d sites. INTRODUCTION The Bhaltos peninsula in Uig Parish, Lewis, has been a focus of archaeological activity for many years. The peninsula lies on the exposed west coast of Lewis, less than 20 km from such sites as Dun Carloway and the Callanish stones (illus 1). The present survey began in 1989 as part of a wider programm f surveo e excavatiod an y n Edinburgcarriey b t ou d h University's Callanish Archaeological Research Project which has also included the excavation of later prehistoric sites at Dun Bharabhat and Loch na Berie (Harding & Armit 1990). The Cnip wheelhouse complex, also e Bhaltointh s peninsula s excavatewa , d with funding from Historic Scotland (ibid). e surveTh y was subsequently extende e Centr th scopn r i Fields carriey b fo e wa n 199t ei d d ou d2 an Archaeology (CFA), Universit Edinburghf yo , sponsore Historiy db c Scotland. A peninsulasa , Bhalto naturalls si y define self-containedd dan , comprisin aren ga f som ao e t contain4xI . 3km seriesa f machaiso r beaches which back onto steeply rising interio e hillth n si r of the peninsula (Ritchie & Mather 1970). Traigh na Berie is a broad machair beach (illus 2) similar to the larger machair plains of Harris and the Uists, while Traigh Cnip and Traigh na Clibhe are typical of the numerous small beaches of Lewis itself. The peninsula contains small * Historic Scotland, Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH 68 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1994 ILLUS 1 Location map. Based upon the Ordnance Survey map © Crown copyright ARMIT: BHALTOS PENINSULA, LEWIS 69 1 (Traigh Bhaltos- BHALTOS TFaTjh na Clibhe Cnio Headland- CNIP Loch Trialabhat Loch Cuilena Loch Bharabhat Loch Sganier LIMIT OF MIABHAIG UIGEN -MDW- ILLU S2 Study area. Based upon Ordnancee th CrownSurvey© p ma copyright machair lochs and hill lochs which have formed settlement foci in prehistory. Bhaltos is thus almos microcosa t Lewie th f mso landscape, lacking onl extensive yth e blanket peat which characterizes the northern parts of the interior of the island. The machair environment, which forms the focus of the present study, dictates to a large extent the nature of the survey and the presentation of the results. There is little survival of any extensive field systems or dykes; if they ever existed they have long since been removed, buried or eroded away virtualld an f ,wha o l tyal survive s alreadi s y mappe e 19th-centurth n do y Ordnance Survey coverage. There is a significant contrast between the evidence available for this sort of area and that from areas suc Waterniss ha Skyen hi , recently surveye Royae th y dlb Commissioe th n no Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (1993). In the latter the potential exists for the establishment of sequences in the 'layers' of the settlement landscape by means of area survey and analysis. Survey on the machair is, in general, much less amenable to this approach. Many of the site Bhalton i s s surviv s 'islandsea deflatea n i ' d machair plain, reduce isolateo dt d pointf o s 70 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1994 survival. This necessarily restricts landscape survey and dictates a concentration on the individual sites themselves. thin I s pape Gaelie rth c spelling f Bhaltosso , Cni Clibhd pan usee ear accor o dt d with current road signs and forthcoming map editions. Older maps and previous archaeological work refer to these place theiy sb r Anglicized spellings, Valtos, Knee Cliffd pan . THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY Appendix 1 (fiche) comprises the gazetteer of the recorded sites. The gazetteer reference number for each site mentione followine th n di g tex s listei t bracketn di sreference nexth s i o t td an e shown on the relevant site distribution plan (illus 5, 7, 9, 12). Appendix 2 (fiche) discusses the stability and potential problems of each of the principal machair systems in the Bhaltos peninsula. AIMS e surve conductes Th ywa contexe widee th th n di f ro t research programme described abovd ean had a number of specific aims designed to complement and expand the results of the excavation programme aime Th .s most relevan presene th o t t report were: examino t ) (a e wider model settlemenf so t developmen Westere th n i t n loca e Isleth t lsa scale; (b) to provide a local archaeological context for the excavated sites and to assess the archaeological potential of the locality beyond the known and excavated sites; (c) to assess the efficacy of the various survey methods employed, particularly geophysical survey r sitfo ,e identificatio definitiod nan machaie th n ni r environment. METHODS To achieve these aims a range of methods was adopted, principally as follows: (a) Existing records, eg NMR, previous excavation and survey data etc, were collated. (b) Fieldwalkin undertakes gwa n ove Bhaltowhole e th th r f eo s peninsula, wit exceptioe hth f no the south coast and south-facing hill slopes (illus 2). All features of actual or probable archaeological significance were recorded, with the exception of settlements and field systems marke t editiooccupies da 1s late d s e 'ruinsa nan th r r do n Ordnanc o ' e Survey 6-inch maps. On Traigh na Berie, however, the focal area of the field survey, such mapped settlements were include e surveyth n di . Land boundarie traced an s f formeo s r agriculture have generallt yno been include gazetteere th n di , especially where thes e markee Ordnancear th n do e Survey map coverage of the area; there are in any case no such relict field systems on the machair itself whicprime th s hi e concer thif no s report. (c) Detailed surveys of selected monuments were carried out, using an EDM. (d) Geophysical survey was carried out on a range of machair sites. Magnetic survey was undertaken by Steve Dockrill, Jim Pocock and Mark Gillings. Resistivity survey was carried out principall Neighbourm Ti y yb resulte l thial Th . s f o swor e presentekar Appendin di x3 (fiche). (e) Coring of selected machair sites was conducted to amplify the field surveys and the geophysical results. (f) Selective soil sampling and analysis carried out by Dr lan Simpson. The results of this work form Appendi x(fiche)4 . ARMIT: BHALTOS PENINSULA, LEWIS I 71 PREVIOUS RESEARCH reasone e selectioth th Bhaltoe f r o th fo se f no sOn peninsul focae th e Callaniss l a th are r afo h Archaeological Research Project was the relative wealth of existing information. The first serious archaeological aree conductes worth awa n ki RCAHMy db preparatioe th n Si f theino r Inventory Outee onth r Hebrides Smale , th Sky d l ean Isle s (RCAHMS 1928). This appear havo st e beena rather more intensive survey than was carried out for most other parts of Lewis; a number of significant, though often ephemeral, sites were located in addition to the more obvious drystone monuments. e nexTh t significan t aree s undertakeworth awa n ki Lacailley nb identifieo wh , d whae h t considere primitive b o dt e stone industries fro mnumbea locationf ro s (1937; 1954, 299-304)e On . of these appears to have been site 3 in the present survey, of which he published a photograph (Lacaille 1954, 301, Fig 136). Lacaille considered that this material represented Mesolithic technological survivals into later prehistory, including materia r whicfo l closese hth t technological parallel whan i y ts la wer e then terme Late dth e Larnia Obaniar no n industries (Lacaille 1954, 301). Although cleathero n s rei definitio assemblage th f o n locatione eon froy man , Lacaille's work does provide an indication of the general nature of the lithic material in the area. Subsequent work ,mid-1980s e prioth o t r sporadis wa , limited can scopen di wheelhousA . e was partially expose r CaluM y mdb MacLeo e 1950 f Reeth do n i sfrica (12d h an )Vikin g grave was excavated in 1979 (15, Welander et al 1987). The most important fieldwork over this period, however excavatioe th s multi-phaswa a , f no e Bronz buriae eAg l monumen Cnin o ) p (2 theadlan d Joannr byD a Close-Brooks (forthcoming). currene Th t programm Callanise f worth eo y kb h Archaeological Research Project began ni 1985 and has included three major excavations to date: a complex Atlantic roundhouse, Dun Bharabhat (5) broca ; h tower, Loc Beria hn ewheelhousa (6)d an ; cellulad ean r complex, Cnip (9).
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