Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Looking SE towards the southern section of the site, from the northern section

A Report on an Archaeological Walk-Over Survey Prepared for Mark Banham

Nick Lindsay B.Sc, Ph.D Tel: 01408 621338 Sunnybrae West Clyne e-mail: [email protected] Brora Sutherland April 2012 KW9 6NH

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Contents

1.0 Executive Summary ...... 2

2.0 Introduction...... 3 2.1 Background ...... 3 2.2 Objectives ...... 3 2.3 Methodology ...... 3 2.4 Limitations ...... 3 2.5 Setting ...... 3 3.0 Results ...... 5 3.1 Desk-Based Assessment ...... 5 3.2 Field Survey ...... 16 4.0 Conclusions...... 20

5.0 Recommendations ...... 21

References ...... 22

Appendices ...... 23

1 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

1.0 Executive Summary

An archaeological desk-based study and subsequent walk-over survey of an area to the north west of Croft 287 Morness, Rogart, to the north west of the village of Pittentrail in East Sutherland, was undertaken in March 2012. The survey was required by Mr Sandy Sutherland to establish the extent of archaeological remains, which would, in turn, determine the viability of planting trees.

The survey area is split into two separate compartments comprising parts of the steep north east sides of the Torbreck Burn valley and the gently undulating hill ground above. The site is accessed from a hill track leading from the end of the public road Croft 287 Morness (see Appendix I).

The survey resulted in the recording of 18 archaeological features, 8 of which had previously been recorded on the Highland Council Archaeology Unit’s Historic Environment Record (HER).

2 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Background

Mr Sandy Sutherland, of 287 Morness, proposes to plant trees to the north west of his croft in the parish of Rogart. Prior to this, through his agent, Mr Mark Banham, he commissioned a desk- based assessment and subsequent walk-over survey to record and survey any archaeological remains present in the area and assess the impact which the proposal may have on the archaeology.

2.2 Objectives

The objectives of this survey were to:

• Identify the cultural heritage baseline within the proposal area.

• Consider the potential impacts of the proposed development on the cultural heritage resource.

• Propose measures (where appropriate) to mitigate any predicted adverse impacts.

2.3 Methodology

A desk-based study was made of the Highland Council’s HER, in conjunction with many specific and relevant references held locally in Sutherland, in order to identify any known and/or visible archaeology. Google Earth was also consulted prior to the walkover survey to get an overview of any likely archaeology to be encountered.

The subsequent walkover survey used the most recent Ordnance Survey maps and a hand-held Garmin GPS unit was used for GPS co-ordinates, and a pocket compass clinometer was used for 3600 whole circle bearings and slope gradients.

2.4 Limitations

The site was found to be open, and vegetated partly by heather (some deep and thick) and grass, with occasional bracken, so limitations to finding archaeology on the ground were few, except in the areas of thick heather. It has to be borne in mind, however, that archaeology may also still lie concealed beneath the surface.

GPS co-ordinates are found to differ from Ordnance Survey National Grid co-ordinates generally by around 10m (can be up to 18m) to the SSW. This may pose local problems when relating recorded features to large-scale OS maps. GPS accuracy is wholly determined by the ability to access available satellites by line of sight. This ability can be reduced by proximity to hillsides and valley-sides and also by tree cover.

2.5 Setting

The area identified for this proposal covers two separate sections of rough hill ground, to the north west of Morness. The smaller, southern section is 750m from the croft and the larger, northern section is 1.5km from the croft. The area of the southern section is 8.15 hectares (20.3

3 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland acres) and it extends in a NW-SE direction along the east side of the Torbreck Burn, measuring approximately 600m x 200m. The area of the northern section is 15.39 hectares (37.8 acres) and it also extends in a NW-SE direction along the east side of the Torbreck Burn, measuring approximately 1100m x 200m.

The majority of the site is covered with heather and grass, resting on peat and glacial boulder clay, with a few sporadic outcrops of granite. The survey area rises steeply from the Torbreck Burn and levels out on the crest of the hill. The whole of both of the sections are unimproved and has been used for sheep grazing. No sign of sheep occurs now, but cattle still graze the northern section.

The area is not now habited, although map evidence suggests that there has been a long-lived human habitation history in the wider area, from the Neolithic, through the Bronze/Iron Age to the Post-Clearance era, after which the site would have been used for agriculture.

4 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

3.0 Results

3.1 Desk-Based Assessment

3.1.1 Historic Environment Record

Initial consultation of the Highland Council Archaeology Unit’s Historic Environment Record (HER) showed that there are two recorded sites within the southern survey area and four in the northern survey area. Adjacent to the survey areas and also in the wider area, there are many other recorded hut circles (associated with the Bronze/Iron Age) and Pre-Clearance township dwellings and associated structures. The nearest Scheduled Ancient Monument is the Achnagarron hut circles site, approximately 2.7km to the east south east.

The presence of these hut circles, together with the other recorded ancient monuments dating back as far as the Neolithic in the surrounding district, show that the area has a long lived and rich history. Early colonisers would have grown subsistence crops on the valley sides and flat valley floor. They would have hunted on the hillsides and fished in the rivers and lochs and it clearly shows that several communities would have been able to sustain an existence here.

3.1.2 Maps

For the southern area, the current Ordnance Survey map depicts two hut circles and two unroofed buildings at the southern end and a boundary feature extending westwards from the buildings to the Torbreck Burn, then running parallel on its east bank. There are no features of any description depicted within the northern survey area.

Investigation into maps of earlier origins, from William Roy’s Military Survey of Scotland, of 1747-55 (Map Extract 1, below) reveals a little more. The Torbreck Burn (and the Braes of Moriness) is lined with settlements on both its sides of the burn, the highest of which is Torbrak Moriness. Associated with each township can be seen the depiction of the traditional rig and furrow cultivation system of the day.

Map Extract 1 – Roy (1747-55)

5 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Subsequent surveyors, Forbes (1820), Thomson (1832) and Burnett & Scott’s (1853), depict nothing further upstream of just south of the southern survey area. This is quite unusual, especially for the latter surveyors, as their depiction of even the smallest settlements is accurate. It is probably an indication of the settlements which are dotted around the landscape in the vicinity of the survey areas having been cleared to make way for the sheep farmers from the south, who would take over the land (see 3.1.3, below).

The Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 scale 1st Edition map (Map Extract 2, below), published in 1879 (surveyed in 1872), names Allt an Torra Bhric as the Torbreck Burn and the township of A’Bhuaile-fhraoich, just skirting, but mainly outwith the northern survey area. The township is still depicted, but not named, on the current Ordnance Survey edition.

3.1.3 Documentary Evidence

The place name Torbreck is Gaelic for ‘Speckled Rock’, which is appropriate as the hills above the Torbreck Burn are littered with glacial boulders and rocks. Morness is Gaelic for ‘Big Point (headland)’.

The earliest mention of Morness (Morines) discovered is in the Origines Parochiales Scotiae (p721), in a charter in of 1562, when it and other places (see below) were granted to Alexander Sutherland of Duffous by Earl John of Sutherland.

In 1562 the same earl [Earl John], with the consent of his wife Helen countess of Errol and Suthirland, granted anew in heritage to his kinsman Alexander Sutherland of Duffous on his resignation the barony of Skelbo and other lands, including Roartbeig (or Litill Rewart), Morines, Cragie, Ladie, and Blaricht. The grant of the earldom to Robert Stewart in 1563 included the lands of Moy, Rine, Cragie, Litil Rod (or Litill Reorde), Morines, Dola, Blaroquhy, Lady, Pitfwir, and Knokartoll, and the new grant of 1566 the same lands with the exception of Dola. In 1578 Alexander earl of Sutherland sold the lands of Pitfuir and Knokartholl to Hugh Moray of Aberscors. In 1616 the lands of Morines, Litill Rogart, Cragie, Lady, and Blerich, were included in a retour of the barony of Skelbo in favour of William Sutherland of Duffus as heir to his father William.

On Candlemas (February 2nd) 1691, Scottish citizens were subject to a tax on their hearths. For each hearth in their houses or their workshops, they were levied 14 shillings Scots. Anyone defined as ‘poor’ was exempt. The Hearth Tax records of Sutherland show that there were 11 heads of households taxed for having a hearth at Morines (Morness) (see Table 1 below).

Name No of Hearths George Sutherland 1 Paull Chisolme 1 Wm McWm vic Rorie 1 Donald Gow 1 Allexr Murray 1 John Sutherland 1 Donald McKenzie 1 Donald Buchanach 1 Paull Miller 1 James Sutherland 1 Donald McDonald vic Paill 1

Table 1 – 1691 Hearth Tax records: Morines (sic)

6 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

The Old Statistical Account, written in the late 1790s by the Revd Aeneas M’Leod, while not mentioning Morness or Torbreak specifically, gives some interesting information about the parish in the late 18th Century. The population had risen some 350 between the middle of the century to around 2000 at the time of publication and there were some 75-80 births per year at that time. M’Leod, in describing the main occupations of the parish concludes that there are several weavers, taylors (sic), shoemakers, smiths, carpenters and coopers, but ‘there are hardly any onein all these professions, that does not hold more or less land; so that the whole may said to be farmers, and their chief property consists in the number of cattle of different sorts they can keep.’ He reports that the only crops in the parish are oats, barley and potatoes.

M’Leod then paints a rather bleak picture of some of the social problems of the parish, some of which, ironically, could still be applied to the current time: ‘The lower class of tenants are much straitened for servants, till their own children be able to help them. They can only afford to hire young boys, who are commonly very restless, running to the south of Scotland for higher wages during the warm season, as soon as they find themselves able for any heavy work, and returning to live idle with their friends from November to March, when they emigrate again south. This is an evil severely felt all over this country, and their earnings scarcely compensate for the extravagance of dress, and other vices they bring home with them.’

In his conclusion, M’Leod is still somewhat less than generous in his summing up of the people: ‘The people seem to be much more inclined to idleness than to industry. They are extremely frugal of the little they have; but as to earning anything more, it is a melancholy fact, that a poor tenant……..will rather saunter, or sit idle at home, than work for 6d a day, which would be a considerable addition to his own and his family’s scanty meal.’ M’Leod then finishes with a statement which is a little more upbeat: ‘They are, however, in general, religious and well disposed, and may become industrious, when they have more tempting inducements to become so.’

There is some evidence to back up M’Leod, as the Inverness Journal of Friday, 3 February 1809 Carried an notice from Torbreck Estate, stating that several notorious poachers will be prosecuted if they do not desist from shooting over this estate.

An intriguing case of disorder was also recorded in the Dornoch Jail records of October 6th 1814, when ‘Robert MacKay in Cranich of Strathmore in the parish of Durness was Incarcerated in the said Tolbooth, and to remain therein for 12 hours, and thereafter until payment of a Fine awarded against him, in terms of a Warrant of the Justices of Peace of the said County at a Court held this day, on a complaint at the instance of Donald MacKenzie, Tacksman of Morness, for clandestinely and unwarrantably working MacKenzie’s horses sent to a hill grascing’.

The notorious Sutherland Clearances, brought about by the landlords of the Sutherland Estate, Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford, greatly changed life for all inhabitants of Sutherland, including those of Rogart parish. Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland had married George Granville Leveson-Gower, the richest heir-apparent in the world, in 1785. He eventually inherited his father’s and his uncle, the Duke of Bridgewater’s massive fortune in 1803, so their great ‘improvement’ plans could now be swung into action. With increasing expenses to support extravagant lifestyles, the Staffords decided to capitalise on the greater rent returns provided by the new wave of large scale sheep farming which had swept up from the south. Tenants would be removed from their small, unimproved lands, to be replaced by sheep in huge new farms, and resettled at new, mainly coastal, towns. Here they would be provided with a small lot of land, where they could build a house and bring the ground into cultivation. They would also be encouraged to become employed, either in proposed industries, or as tradesmen or as servants to service the new population.

7 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

The Sutherland Estate Papers, lodged at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh reveal some information regarding the clearance period for the area surrounding the survey area. In a document in Acc 10853-264 ‘State of Leases on the Estate of Sutherland - August 1819’, there were 23 families at Torbreck, Torrisaid, Reandogy, Croitroy, Bualruach & Breacachy of Moriness whose leases had expired and were ‘to be brought from the interior of the Estate of Sutherland, to the Coast and the respective dates at which their present lease expires’ and in a document in Dep 313-1015 it confirms that one family from Torbreck of Pitfour was removed in May 1819.

The author of the New Statistical Account in 1834, the Revd John MacKenzie reports that population in the parish had fallen to 1805 by 1831, having peaked at 2148 in 1811. The reasons for the decrease, he states, is emigration to ‘the provinces subject to Britain in North America, chiefly to Upper Canada.’ Average births per year had also fallen quite dramatically to 40, possibly indicating that it was the young, fit and able people who had largely emigrated, leaving an ageing population behind – again, a not dis-similar picture to today.

Regarding the character of the people, MacKenzie reports an improvement since M’Leod. He states that a ‘desire for information prevails among them….and the degree of information they possess is more than could be expected from the advantages enjoyed by them. The young, in general, read Gaelic and English; and some of them write and understand arithmetic.’ MacKenzie then appears to be proud of his flock by reporting that ‘Smuggling, happily for their character and circumstances, has been checked. Poaching in game, or in the salmon fisheries, is not attempted by them.’

He reports that there were 386 inhabited houses in the parish and that 279 of these families were involved in agriculture, while only 19 were involved in trade, manufacture or handicraft.

MacKenzie’s post-Clearance conclusion is in stark contrast to that of M’Leod’s, some 35 years earlier, when life carried on in the same way as it had for countless generations in the past. He states that ‘The greatest change has taken place in the habits of the people since the last [Statistical] Account. They are now very industrious in general, and surpassed by none around them as willing, skilful and active labourers in all those kinds of work which the extensive and varied improvements carried on in the county have supplied to its population.’

However, it must be borne in mind that the Minister would have been appointed by the landlords, the Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford. It is, therefore, likely that he wished to paint a contrastingly rosy state of affairs to M’Leod, following the great upheavals in domestic life brought about by the clearances by the Sutherland Estate.

To add some weight to this argument, evidence from the Dornoch Jail Records suggest that smuggling, illicit distilling and offences against the laws of excise had continued unabated. Table 2 (below) shows records of people for just Morness and Torbreck.

Date Name Place Sentence for Excise Offence Released 02/03/1829 Widow Ann MacDonald Morness £25 or Six months 14/05/1829 24/03/1829 Chirsty Mackay Torbreck £20 or Six months 12/08/1829 06/05/1831 Hugh Sutherland Morness £4.4/- or Six months 22/07/1831 15/10/1831 Wemyss Sutherland Torbreck £30 Sterling 11/01/1832

Table 2 – Dornoch Jail Records: Entries for Excise Offences committed by Morness and Torbreck Residents

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Table 3 (below) is a list of those known to have emigrated from the townships of Morness and Torbreck to seek new fortunes abroad, a decade after the Clearances. There would have been many more.

Year No in Name Residence Occupation Status Age left Party Alexander MacKay Torbreck Tenant 1829 3 ? MacKenzie Brachu of Morness Widow 1830 7 George Matheson Brachu of Morness Lotter 1830 3 Alexander Ross Morness Miller 1830 7 Catherine Campbell Morness W idow 1831 4 Elspeth Gordon Morness 1831 3 Ann MacDonald Morness 1831 5 Donald MacDonald Torbreck T ailor 1831 5 Gilbert Matheson Morness 1831 3 S ubtenant to Messrs John Ross Torbreck 1831 5 Atkinson & Marshall John Sutherland Morness Widower 49 1842 5 John MacKay Morness 17 1844 1 Catherine Sutherland Morness S ingle 46 1844 1 Catherine Sutherland Morness Single 19 1844 1

Table 3 – Torbreck & Morness Emigrants (various sources)

There was an expectation that fit young men would enlist into the local regiments to be at the behest of the feudal landlord, in this case, the Sutherland Estate. Military records list those who served.

Sutherland Militia lists (see Tables 4-7, below) show inhabitants at Moriness (Morness) and Torbreck.

Name Residence William McKay Torbreak John Murray Moriness

Table 4 – Sutherland Militia 1793: Torbreck & Morness Residents (Sutherland Estate Papers - Dep 313-3273)

Name Occupation Residence Alexander MacDonald Tenant Moriness Donald MacKay Labourer Moriness Philip MacLeod Servant Moriness John Matheson Tenant Moriness John Murray Labourer Moriness James Sutherland Labourer Moriness John Sutherland Labourer Moriness

Table 5 – Sutherland Militia 1809: Morness Residents (www.countysutherland.co.uk)

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Company Rank Name Age Size Residence Enrolled Captain William Private John Sutherland 21 5' 6" Moriness 1813 Taylor's Co Captain William Private Alexander Gun 18 5' 6" Moriness 1813 McCulloch's Co Captain William Private Alexander MacKay 21 5' 7" Moriness 1813 Munro's Co Captain William Private Angus McKenzie 23 5' 6" Moriness 1813 Munro's Co Captain Duncan Private Robert McKenzie 20 5' 7" Moriness 1811 Sutherland's Co

Table 6 – Sutherland Militia 1813: Morness Residents (Sutherland Estate Papers - Dep 313-3273)

Name Occupation Residence Age Colin Gordon Labourer Morness Under 30 Donald Gordon Labourer Morness Under 30 Robert Gordon Labourer Morness Under 30 Angus MacKenzie Labourer Morness Over 30 Angus MacKenzie Tailor Morness Over 30 George MacKenzie (Mr) Farmer Morness Over 30 John MacKenzie Labourer Morness Under 30 Robert MacLeod Labourer Morness Under 30 George Matheson Labourer Morness Under 30 Gilbert Matheson Labourer Morness Under 30 Hugh Matheson Labourer Morness Over 30 Angus Murray Subtenant Morness Over 30 Hugh Sutherland Labourer Morness Under 30

Table 7 – Sutherland Militia 1829: Torbreck & Morness Residents (www.countysutherland.co.uk)

10 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Table 8 (below) is a list of residents of the townships of Morness and Torbreck on the 1812 Parish of Rogart Statute Labour List. (NAS SC9/86/12)

Name Occupation Residence Adam Baillie Tenant Torbreak Donald Campbell Tenant Morness John MacDonald Tenant Torbreak of Pitfure Alexander MacKay Tenant Torbreak of Pitfure David MacKay Tenant Torbreak of Pitfure John MacKay Tenant Morness John MacKay Householder Torbreak Toal MacKay (Thomas?) Tenant Torbreak of Pitfure Donald MacKenzie - Morness George MacKenzie Residenter Morness Robert MacKenzie Residenter Morness Finlay MacLeod Servant to Donald Mackenzie Morness Alexander Munro Tenant Torbreak of Pitfure Donald Munro Tenant Torbreak Adam Murray Householder Torbreak Neil Murray Tenant Torbreak John Sutherland’s widow Tenant Morness

Table 8 – Parish of Rogart Statute Labour List 1812: Torbreck & Morness Residents (www.countysutherland.co.uk)

11 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

3.1.4 Archaeological Timescales (from Am Baile)

Stone Age – 10,000 to 4,400 Years Ago About 10,000 years ago, Scotland lay under a great sheet of ice. As the climate slowly warmed and the ice retreated, people were already living in the area, hunting, fishing and where possible gathering wild plants and fruits. The retreating glaciers left behind boulders and mud, which would soon be colonised by grasses and shrubs. Trees followed - hazel and birch at first, followed by oak and pine. A rich variety of animals were attracted and the seas and lochs had fish in plenty.

The retreat of the Ice marks the end of the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), whose primitive stone tools have been found in southern England. Evidence of Palaeolithic people and the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) is thought to have been lost through ice action in Scotland. This is characterised by shell middens - heaps of debris containing many seashells as well as stone and bone tools. Middens have been found in Skye, Argyll, and Wester Ross dating to around 8,000 years ago. A working site, where stone tools were being made, has now been found at Oliclett in Caithness.

From about 6,000 years ago people began to settle and farm the land. This change brings in the Neolithic (New Stone Age), and the creation of the first monuments. Great burial cairns were built overlooking the cultivated land in which the bones of tribal ancestors were collected together. Good examples of chambered cairns can be seen at Camster, Cnoc Freicadain, Yarrows (Caithness), Achcoillenaborgie (Strathnaver), Clava (Inverness), Vatten, Kensaleyre, Rudh' an Dunain and Kilmarie (Skye) and other places. Some of these are round and others are long, but they all have chambers inside to hold the ancestors. At the end of the Neolithic, about 4,400 years ago, great enclosures and stone circles were being built. The magnificent examples at Callanish in Lewis or the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney are well known. In Highland we have the sophisticated Clava Cairns near Inverness where burial cairns are surrounded by stone circles and attached to them by stone rays.

Bronze Age – 4,400 to 2,600 Years Ago From about 4,400 years ago travelling metalworkers introduced ornaments and tools made of copper and then bronze (copper and tin mixture), bringing in the Bronze Age. A bronze-worker's open air workshop has been found on the Island of Eigg and a hoard of buried axe-heads has been found in Lochaber. It is an interesting fact that the nearest sources of copper and tin are many hundreds of miles away from the Highlands. The great monuments of the late Neolithic continue into the middle Bronze Age, around 3,500 years ago, after which there was a change to individual burials of important people only. These are often set in stone boxes or 'cists' and have pottery or other finds buried with them. Sometimes they are found inserted into earlier burial cairns.

Some buried evidence of large communal houses dating to the Neolithic has been found, but from the middle Bronze Age we start to get visible evidence in the landscape of round houses (the overgrown stone footings are known as 'hut circles'). These are often surrounded by groups of stone clearance heaps where land has been used for growing crops. Woodland that had grown up since the end of the Ice Age was now being felled in earnest. The climate had improved to a point that it was warmer than it is today. Many hut circles are in areas that are now too high and cold for cultivation.

Iron Age – 2,600 to 1,500 Years Ago The weather seems to have worsened towards the end of the Bronze Age (about 2,700 years ago), and upland houses and fields became abandoned to the encroaching peat. At the same time we find the first clear evidence of conflict - hillforts with great ramparts to protect people and their animals from attack. Some hillfort ramparts in Highland, especially around the Moray Firth, have been set on fire and burned so fiercely that the stones have fused together. This is

12 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland known as vitrification and it can be seen at Craig Phadraig, Inverness, or Knockfarrel, Dingwall. It is not known why or how this was done. Recent experiments have failed to establish the answer.

At the same time, iron working was being introduced. This requires much higher temperatures to work than bronze but the result is much harder and more durable. Hut circles continue through the Iron Age, and increasingly we find evidence of field boundary walls as well as groups of clearance heaps.

The Roman Empire never conquered the Highlands but nevertheless there was a sophisticated local culture here which traded with the Romans. Caithness is the heartland of the broch, a uniquely Scottish type of round stone tower with hollow walls dating from about 200 BC to 200 AD. Some of these have been excavated and have produced traded Roman finds. The finest brochs to visit in Highland are in Glenelg. At Rubh an Dunain on Skye, there is a broch-like stone wall defending a rocky headland, and a variety of other types of Iron Age fort, many of them called duns, are found. Often these make use of natural defensive features such as sea- cliffs.

Duns and brochs were not just for defence. They also indicated the status of the chief who lived there. Crannogs for example would have had limited defensive potential in an age of boat transport as they were houses built on artificial islands, in lochs. Many of these local centres of power seem to have continued in use well into the medieval period - there are references to crannogs still being occupied in the 16th Century.

Another curious type of site associated with the Iron Age is the souterrain. This is a curved underground tunnel built of stone slabs. There are good examples in Skye, Sutherland, and at Easter Raitts in Badenoch. We do not know what they were built for originally but later they seem to have been used for storage and for hiding from enemies. The entrances to souterrains often seem to lead from the inside of houses.

From the 4th Century AD the people of northern Scotland were being referred to by Roman writers as 'Picti' - painted people. These people produced characteristic symbols which are found carved on stone and also on finds of jewellery from the period. Pictish stones are found all over the Highlands, but there is a concentration in the east. Some of the great Pictish carved cross- slabs such as those in Easter Ross are magnificent works of art dating to the 8th - 10th Centuries AD, with influences from Northumbria, Ireland, and Scandinavia. These combine Pictish and Christian symbolism.

The Medieval Highlands - 1,500 to 500 Years Ago Christianity was introduced into the area from Ireland in the latter half of the 6th Century AD. There are many sites associated with early Christian activity, many of them including the place name elements Cille or Kil and Annat. St Maelrubha founded a monastery at Applecross in 673 AD. His grave is supposed to be marked by the Red Priest's stone in Strathnaver, although this is disputed. The early Tarbat monastery at Portmahomack in Easter Ross has been excavated over the last few years by York University, who have found evidence of a range of craft activities including making parchment for manuscripts.

Viking raids began at the end of the 8th Century, and it seems likely that Tarbat was burned down. The Vikings arrived from Norway by way of Shetland and Orkney, and they soon began to settle many coastal areas. Caithness, the coastal areas of Sutherland and Wester Ross, and the Hebrides all came under Norse control as can be seen from many surviving place names. The Hebrides transferred from the Kingdom of Norway to the Kingdom of Scotland after the battle of Largs in 1266, but Orkney and Shetland did not become part of Scotland for another 200 years. Even today the Caithness dialect shows Scandinavian influences. Dingwall was the Thing-vollr, the local Norse parliament, as survives today in the Isle of Man's Tynwald.

13 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

The Highlands lay on the great trading seaway from Scandinavia to Ireland, France and Spain, and at Smoo Cave (Sutherland) boat fittings have been found where ships have put in to refit before or after rounding Cape Wrath. Today however there are few Norse archaeological sites that can be visited in Highland. In Caithness there are the remains of extensive settlements hidden beneath sand dunes, and Old St Peter's Church in Thurso has a runic stone built into its wall. Near Thurso can be seen the remains of the Castle of the Norse Bishops at Scrabster and near Wick is the square stone tower of the Castle of Auld Wick. Many local chiefs seem to have continued to occupy Iron Age forts.

The later middle ages, from about 1200 to about 1550 AD, were dominated by the attempts of the kings of Scotland to establish their power over the highlands, including the Earldom of Orkney in Caithness and Sutherland, and the Lordship of the Isles in the west. The Lords of the Isles were the successors to the largely independent kingdom of Man and the Isles. In an attempt to divide and rule, chief was set against chief. The insecurity of the times encouraged the growth of the clan system. There are still many castles surviving from this period built by clan chiefs: on Skye alone there are Duntulm, Dunvegan, Brochel, Knock, Dun Sgathaich and Castle Maol. Anglo-Norman lords such as the De Morays in Sutherland and the St Clairs (Sinclairs) in Caithness were granted estates in the area, and they too established castles. Alexander Stewart, the 'Wolf of Badenoch' had his at Ruthven, where fragments of wall can still be seen beneath the 18th Century barracks. Towns such as Inverness were also established as centres of trade and royal power. These burghs were however confined to the east, around the Moray Firth - there do not seem to have been any foundations in the west.

King James IV repeatedly visited the shrine of St Duthac at Tain in the early 16th century, combining pilgrimage with political expediency. Medieval kings could made use of church organisation to help them establish control in their territories. The bishopric of Ross was established by the 12th Century with its centre initially in Rosemarkie, then later at Fortrose Cathedral.

However in much of the Highlands it was also a time of flourishing Gaelic culture and learning, with extensive links to Ireland, the Isle of Man, and continental Europe. Medical science, music, poetry and art all received patronage from clan chiefs. St Columba's Isle, near Skeabost on Skye was the cathedral of the Bishops of Sodor (i.e. Sudreyar, the Norse Southern Isles) and Man until they moved to Iona in 1499.

Apart from castles and the remains of a few churches, there is little later medieval archaeology that can be seen today. Most houses seem to have been built using wood, peat, and thatch and most household items were also made of organic materials. Everything was recycled. However it seems very likely that many remains of deserted villages dating to the 18th and 19th Centuries are sitting on top of earlier houses and fields: once you have cleared the stones from the land in the Highlands, why move unless you have to?

The 'Post-Medieval' Period - 500 Years Ago to Modern Times In the 17th Century, the Covenanter Wars left battle sites at Auldearn and Carbisdale, and Montrose was imprisoned after his defeat at Ardvreck Castle in Sutherland. Oliver Cromwell established forts to control the Great Glen, including one at Inverness, now almost disappeared except for one corner of the rampart still visible in Lotland Street near the harbour. Cattle droving began to develop as a way of life - Highlanders could raise cattle and sell them on to drovers who took them to markets in central and southern Scotland and on to England. In the early - mid 19th Century many drovers and cattlemen emigrated to become the cowboys of the American West.

In 1688, King James VII (II of England) was ejected by his daughter Mary and son in law (and cousin) William Prince of Orange. There followed a series of uprisings to restore James and his heirs, whose supporters were known as Jacobites (Latin Jacobus - James). Following the rising

14 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland of 1715, the British Government began a national mapping programme, the Ordnance Survey, and also a programme of military road building to control the Highlands. These roads generally followed droving routes and were to form the basis of the modern road network. Barracks were built at Ruthven in Badenoch and Bernera in Glenelg, and major new Forts were built at Fort William, Fort Augustus, and near Inverness at Fort George at Ardersier. This last is still in active military use, although also open to the public. In 1745 the Jacobite army under James's son Bonnie Prince Charlie used the military road over the Corrieyairack Pass on its way south, and finally assembled at Ruthven Barracks to disband after the defeat at Culloden. Not all Highlanders supported the Jacobites, but all suffered the consequences after the '45, as the British Government made serious attempts to destroy the local culture. The lands of Jacobite clan chiefs were confiscated and given to government supporters or sold.

However, for over two hundred years successive kings and governments had already been encouraging Highland chiefs to see themselves as landlords rather than leaders of men. Many of them were now living beyond their means and looking for increased income to support their lifestyles. As the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions took off in England and southern Scotland, tenants found themselves evicted to make way for large-scale commercial sheep farming to supply the woollen industry and the new urban markets. Estate owners meanwhile built new houses and monuments. Around the Cromarty Firth, a grain trade developed and girnals (storehouses) were built by the shore like that at Foulis. Attempts to introduce new employment meant the establishment of fishing stations like Ullapool and Pultenytown (Wick), as well as engineering and mining enterprises at Brora. The slate quarries at Ballachulish in Lochaber supplied much of Scotland with roofing, while Caithness flagstones came to pave the streets of towns and cities around the Empire. However for many people there was terrible hardship, especially after a series of famines in the 1840s, and many emigrated, leaving their villages deserted.

At the same time, the mid 19th Century saw the growth of a romantic Highland image promoted by Sir Walter Scott and others, and so admired by Queen Victoria. It also saw a rapid decline in the sheep prices after the end of the Napoleonic War. These both encouraged the development of shooting and fishing estates in the highlands where the wealthy could 'get away from it all' among the hills and moors. Some of these survive, but in other cases they have given way to other forms of land management. They have left shooting butts and lodges and other features in the landscape. Railways encouraged the growth of tourism, and Strathpeffer developed as a spa village where people arrived to take the waters.

15 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

3.2 Field Survey

3.2.1 Field Report Style

This report contains information on any existing recorded archaeology from a comprehensive desk-based assessment. It also details any archaeological remains discovered during the field survey, which may be affected by the proposed operations.

Included at the start of each feature is:

First Line • Feature Number, unique to this report • Feature Type • Site Name • Possible Age or Period

Second Line • Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference • GPS Reading Accuracy in metres • Highland Council HER Reference Number

Third Line • Whether Feature Appears on Ordnance Survey Map • Plate No (see Appendix V)

3.2.2 Field Results

The site was visited on March 23rd, 2012; the weather was sunny and fine.

In total, there were 18 archaeological features, 8 of which had been previously recorded. They are all plotted on the Feature Location Map of Appendix III.

Southern Section

Feature 1. Clearance Cairn. Torbreck Burn. ?Bronze/Iron Age. Grid Reference: 270646 906109 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 1.

2m x 1m x 0.5m high clearance cairn, comprising several boulders <0.5m sized. It is set on a short heather and grass-covered, south west-sloping valleyside of the Torbreck Burn.

Feature 2. Stone and Turf Dyke. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270661 906155 to 270617 906133 to 270436 906260 (5m). HER Reference: MHG28069. On current OS map. Plates 2, 3 & 10.

Granite boulder and turf dyke extending westwards from the north west corner of the building of Feature 9 (below) to turn towards the north west, to then run along the North east bank of the Torkbreck Burn, where it terminates at the top of its bank. It stands up to 0.7m high and is 0.8m wide.

16 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Feature 3. Enclosure (circular). Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270605 906128 (5m). HER Reference: MHG28069 (part of). Not on OS map. Plate 4.

A loose stone-walled enclosure, measuring 8m in internal diameter, is set on a small shelf on the moderately south west-sloping Torkbreck Burn valleyside. It is revetted at its front and embedded into the hillside at its rear and uses a natural granite outcrop as part of its back wall. The walls stand 0.5m high and are spread to 1m wide. There is an entrance to the north.

Feature 4. Stone and Turf Dyke. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270394 906350 to 270336 906359 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plates 5 & 6.

A loose, low boulder and turf dyke, mostly covered in grass and bracken begins above a small boggy area with a few trees. It curves gently south-westwards to join the stone and turf dyke of Feature 5 (below).

Feature 5. Stone and Turf Dyke. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270336 906337 to 270303 906389 (6m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 6.

A 1m wide x 0.5m high, grass-covered bank arcs from the north east bank of the Torbreck Burn, enclosing a flat area of river terrace. It is joined by the stone and turf dyke of Feature 4 (above).

Feature 6. Dam. Torbreck Burn. ?Post-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270303 906435 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 7.

A 1.5m thick stone boulder dam extends 5m across the Torbreck Burn, creating a small pool upstream. It is possible the pool has been created as a sump for domestic animal drinking, as it appears too small for fishing on such a small burn.

Feature 7. Shieling (possible). Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270573 906290 (6m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 8.

A possible shieling is set on the upper, north-western slope of a dry tributary valley to the Torbreck Burn, just tucked below the flat-topped crest of the ridge. It is roughly circular in shape, with a 3m internal diameter and 1.5m thick x 0.5m high grass-covered mounded walls. It has a centrally placed, 1m wide entrance on its south east side.

Feature 8. Hut Circle. Torbreck Burn. Bronze/Iron Age. Grid Reference: 270661 906184 (7m). HER Reference: MHG10512 (part of). On current OS map. Plate 9.

A 7m diameter hut circle is set on a small shelf on the south end of the broad, flat-topped ridge to the north east of the Torbreck Burn. It has a double skinned wall of boulders up to 1m in size and all appear to be still intact. It is 1m thick and stands up to 0.7m high and is a very obvious feature in the landscape. It has a 1m wide entrance towards 135°, between two of the largest boulders. Its interior is covered with short heather and grass and its walls with bracken.

17 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Feature 9. Building. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270661 906152 (5m). HER Reference: MHG28069 (part of). On current OS map. Plate 10.

Set on a level grass and bracken covered shelf below the hut circle of Feature 8 (above) are the rectangular grass-mounded stone wall footings of a building. It has the stone dyke of Feature 2 (above) leading westwards from its north west corner and it also extends eastwards from its north east corner to an adjacent small burn, alongside which it continues to the south east.

The walls of the building are spread to 1m and stand 0.4m high, though the interior of the building is slightly sunken below ground surface level. It measures 6m x 3.5m, with its sidewalls trending 096° and there is a centrally placed doorway on its southern side.

Feature 10. Building. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270676 906145 (5m). HER Reference: MHG28069 (part of). On current OS map. Plate 11.

Separated from the south east corner of the building of Feature 9 (above) is a T-shaped building of similar construction. Its walls are spread to 1m and stand 0.4m high, though the interior of the building is slightly sunken below ground surface level. It measures 13m x 3.5m, with a centrally placed outshot measuring 3.5m x 3.5m on its northern side. Its sidewalls trend 096° and there is no apparent sign of a doorway.

Feature 11. Building. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270725 906135 (5m). HER Reference: MHG28069 (part of). Not on OS map. Plates 12 & 13.

The footings of a double compartment building set on a broad knoll, across a small burn and to the east of Features 9 & 10 (above). It is set 5m to the NW of a modern field fence, with which its side walls are parallel. The building is 10m long x 3m wide, with its side walls trending 084°. Its loose stone boulder side walls are 0.7m thick and its gables and dividing wall are 1m thick; all stand up to 0.4m high. The dividing wall shows a double skin construction and there is a centrally placed entrance into each section on its southern side wall.

Northern Section

Feature 12. Line of Boulders. Torbreck Burn. ?Bronze/Iron Age. Grid Reference: 270086 907044 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 14.

A 15m long, irregular line of around 12 boulders, up to 0.7m in size, trends 036° directly up the slope across the contours, on a short heather-covered gentle west-dipping slope. Its purpose and age remains conjectural.

Feature 13. Line of Boulders. Torbreck Burn. ?Bronze/Iron Age. Grid Reference: 269641 907262 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 15.

A 15m long, irregular line of around 12 boulders, up to 0.8m in size, trends 286° parallel with the contours, on a deep heather-covered gentle west-dipping slope. Its purpose and age remains conjectural.

18 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Feature 14. Clearance Cairn. Torbreck Burn. Bronze/Iron Age. Grid Reference: 270012 907117 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 16.

2m x 1m x 0.4m high clearance cairn comprising several football-sized boulders is placed on a natural, ground flush granite outcrop. It is set on the upper part of a heather-covered, south west- sloping valleyside of the Torbreck Burn.

Feature 15. Stone and Turf Head Dyke. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270148 907137 to bend at 270187 907082 to 270265 907096 (5m). HER Reference: MHG10523, MHG25179, MHG28049. Not on OS map. Plate 17.

A stone and turf dyke, partially covered in heather, but bare where it has been recently burnt, forms the head dyke to the township of A’Bhuaile-fhraoich, which is just outwith the survey area to the north east. The head dyke just penetrates the area and is 1 to 1.5m wide and stands up to 0.5m high.

Feature 16. Hut Circle. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 269766 907188 (5m). HER Reference: MHG28476 (part of). Not on OS map. Plate 18.

A 6m diameter hut circle is set in deep heather on a small shelf, on the south west-facing slope above the Torbreck Burn. Its 1m thick walls stand up to 0.7m high and comprise boulders up to 1m in size and all appear to be still intact. It has a 1m wide entrance towards 117°, and it also has an internal division, defined by a line of similar sized boulders, in its northern arc.

Feature 17. Old Peat Cuttings. Torbreck Burn. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 270227 907071 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 19.

Shallow peat cuttings, 10m wide at the upper end, trending south-westwards for 40m where ithey are 20m wide. They are situated immediately outwith the head dyke of Feature 15 (above) to the township of A’Bhuaile-fhraoich.

Feature 18. Clearance Cairn. Torbreck Burn. Bronze/Iron Age. Grid Reference: 270263 907042 (5m). HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on OS map. Plate 20.

1m diameter clearance cairn set on a 3m diameter granite outcrop, in front of a larger granite cliff face. The few grapefruit-sized stones are partially embedded in the peat on the outcrop.

19 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

4.0 Conclusions

The aim of this walk-over survey was to determine whether there was any archaeology within the area of survey and to record and survey anything discovered in detail.

This aim was achieved with 18 archaeological features being recorded, 8 of which had previously been recorded.

Whilst nothing present, previously recorded or newly discovered during the survey, could be regarded as being of National or Regional significance as per National Policy Planning Guideline 5, much of the of the recorded archaeology is regarded as being of significant local importance.

20 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

5.0 Recommendations

Given the local importance of the archaeology discovered during this survey, care should be taken to avoid all of the features, with a 10m buffer zone around them.

Southern section

The hut circle and buildings of Features 8-11, should be excluded from the site and left open to the south east. There should be a minimum 10m distance between their outlines and the plantation fence. The applicant must ensure that contractors take the UTMOST CARE not to damage these locally important archaeological features, especially during the construction of the plantation fence.

Northern section

The head dyke of Feature 15 should be excluded from the site and left open to the north east. There should be a minimum 10m distance between its outline and the plantation fence. The applicant must ensure that contractors take the UTMOST CARE not to damage these locally important archaeological features, or those of the township just outwith the site to the north east, especially during the construction of the plantation fence.

Should any archaeological features be discovered during the any planting operations, the Highland Council’s Archaeology Unit should be contacted immediately.

In summary:

• Features 8-11 to be excluded from the site (at the SE end of the southern section)

• Feature 15 to be excluded from the site (on the north east side of the northern section)

• 10m no-planting buffer zone around all of the archaeology except dykes and peat cuttings

• Be mindful of known archaeology within survey area during any construction operations

• In the event of any discovery of archaeological remains, immediate contact must be made with Highland Council’s Archaeology Unit for advice

21 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

References

Adam, R. J. 1972. Papers on Sutherland Estate Management.

Am Baile website: www.ambaile.org.uk/

County Sutherland website: www.countysutherland.co.uk

Loch, James. 1834. Memoirs of the Duke of Sutherland

MacBain, Alexander. 1926. Place Names of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

MacDonald, John. 2002. Rogart: The Story of a Sutherland Crofting Parish.

National Library of Scotland website: www.nls.uk/maps

Northern Times articles.

New Statistical Account of Scotland.

Old Statistical Account of Scotland.

Oman, Donald, 1982. The Sutherland Book.

Ordnance Survey maps – various.

Origines Parochiales Scotiae; the Antiquities Ecclesiastical and Territorial of the Parishes of Scotland. 1798-1874. Innes, Cosmo Nelson, Ed.

Scottish Parliament website: www.scottish.parliament.uk

Sutherland Estate Papers.

Watson, William J. 1926. The History of Celtic Place Names of Scotland.

22 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Appendices

Appendix I Site Location Map

Appendix II Summary Table of Features

Appendix III Feature Location Map

Appendix IV Existing HER Sites

Appendix V Plates

23 Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Appendix I – Site Location Map

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Appendix II – Summary Table of Features

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Feature Easting Northing Type Age HER Ref No 1 270646 906109 Clearance Cairn ?Bronze/Iron Age - MHG28069 2 270617 906133 Stone and Turf Dyke Pre-Clearance (part of) MHG28069 3 270605 906128 Enclosure (circular) Pre-Clearance (part of) 4 270394 906350 Stone and Turf Dyke Pre-Clearance - 5 270344 906381 Stone and Turf Dyke Pre-Clearance - 6 270303 906435 Dam ?Post-Clearance - 7 270573 906290 Shieling (possible) Pre-Clearance - MHG10512 8 270661 906184 Hut Circle Bronze/Iron Age (part of) MHG28069 9 270661 906152 Building Pre-Clearance (part of) MHG28069 10 270676 906145 Building Pre-Clearance (part of) MHG28069 11 270725 906135 Building Pre-Clearance (part of)

? Bronze/Iron 12 270086 907044 Line of Boulders - Age ? Bronze/Iron 13 269641 907262 Line of Boulders - Age 14 270012 907117 Clearance Cairn Bronze/Iron Age - MHG10523 (part of), Stone and Turf Head MHG25179 15 270187 907082 Pre-Clearance Dyke (part of), MHG28049 (part of) 16 269766 907188 Hut Circle Bronze/Iron Age MHG28476 17 270227 907071 Peat Cuttings Pre-Clearance - 18 270263 907042 Clearance Cairn ?Bronze/Iron Age -

Features 1-11 are in the southern section and Features 12-18 are in the northern section.

(see details in section 3.2 - Field Survey)

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Appendix III – Feature Location Map

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Appendix IV – Existing Historic Environment Record Sites

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Southern Site

ID: MHG10512

Type of record: HUT CIRCLE (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC) Name: Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 70660 06200 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 5902

Full Description

At NC 7066 0620, in shelving ground on a S-facing slope, is a hut circle. There are no conclusive signs of associated land-use. The hut measures 8.3 by 8.0m within a boulder faced wall, 1.5m thick, distinguished by a well-preserved inner face; the entrance is in the SE. Surveyed at 1:10 000. Visited by OS (J M) 19 May 1981.

There are two hut-circles lying on the E (ROG95 195) and NW (ROG95 196) edges of a scatter of small cairns (ROG95 929) to the NE of the Torbreck Burn.

The E hut-circle (ROG95 195, NC 7066 0619), previously recorded by the OS (1981), is levelled into a SE-facing hillside and measures 8m in diameter within a boulder-faced bank 1.2m in thickness and 0.5m in height. The terminals of the bank expand to 2.1m in thickness at the entrance, which is on the ESE. The inner face may be faceted.

The NW hut-circle (ROG95 196, NC 7055 0622) is levelled into the back of a small terrace on the steeply-sloping valley side. It measures 9.9m from N to S by 9.2m transversely within an earthen bank spread to 2.1m in thickness and 0.3m in height. The entrance is on the S.

There are about twenty small cairns (ROG95 929), measuring up to 4m in diameter and 0.4m in height, scattered across the ridge and valley side between the two hut-circles. The ground between the cairns is smooth and free from stone litter. Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 15 May 1995

ID: MHG28069

Type of record: CROFTING TOWNSHIP (Post Medieval - 1560 AD to 1900 AD) Name: Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 70700 06100 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 122528

Full Description

The remains of this townhip comprise the faced-rubble footings of six buildings, which are disposed across a terrace to the E of the Torbreck Burn. One building (ROG95 189), with three compartments, is much larger than the others, measuring 19.3m by 2.7m internally, while three of the other buildings measure between 9.3m and 10.2m in length and between 1.9m and 3.7m in breadth internally. The remaining two buildings are appreciably smaller than the others,

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland measuring 4.7m by 2.8m (ROG95 191) and 4.5m by 3m (ROG95 378) internally. Bedneuks are visible in three of the buildings (ROG95 189, 193-4).

At the N end of this township there is a section of the head-dyke that encloses the township on the opposite side of the Torbreck Burn. It is overlain by two buildings, one of which (ROG95 193) lies over the ESE end of the other (ROG95 194).

What may be a stone-walled stell is situated on a terrace to the W of the buildings (NC 7061 0614). Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 15 May 1995

Northern Site

ID: MHG28476

Type of record: HUT CIRCLE (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC) Name: Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 69760 07190 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 130173

Full Description

A hut-circle and an adjacent field-system are situated on the boulder-littered NE side of the valley of the Torbreck Burn. The hut-circle (ROG95 353, NC 6976 0719) measures 6.6m in diameter within a boulder-faced bank 1.1m in thickness and 0.4m in height, with an entrance on the ESE. In the interior there is an upright slab, standing about 0.5m in height and set radially to the line of the bank, and the remains of a later hut. Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 8 June 1995

ID: MHG45382

Type of record: FIELD SYSTEM (Undated) Name: Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 69760 07190 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 130173

Full Description

The field-system (ROG95 995), which lies to the SE of the hut-circle, comprises two plots, separated by a boggy sump, and demarcated by rickles of stone; the plots together measure about 110m by 60m overall. On the steeper slopes to the NE of the plots there are several small cairns measuring up to 4m in diameter within, or at the edges of, what may be another cleared area. Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 8 June 1995

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland ID: MHG45383

Type of record: HUT (Undated) Name: Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 69760 07190 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 130173

Full Description

ID: MHG10523

Type of record: SETTLEMENT (Undated) Name: Cnoc Na Bualie-Fraoich Grid Reference: NC 70200 07100 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 122393

Full Description

Deserted settlement.

ID: MHG25179

Type of record: FARMSTEAD (Post Medieval - 1560 AD to 1900 AD) Name: Possible Corn-Drying Kiln, Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 70200 07100 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 5889

Full Description

Torbrake Moriness: shown as a group of three buildings with arable. W Roy 1747-55.

An area of arable land, within which are the remains of an old sheepfold and the footings of three rectangular buildings and a kiln. The buildings vary in size from 6.0m by 3.0m to 16.0m by 4.0m. Visited by OS (W D J) 14 April 1964.

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland A crofting settlement abandoned in the 18th / 19th century. There are three buildings footings and ruins of a corn-drying kiln; the settlement, which includes the arable ground, has been enclosed by a bank. A later sheepfold, now dilapidated, is on the site. Kiln surveyed at 1:10,000. Visited by OS (J M) 19 May 1981.

This farmstead comprises two buildings and a corn-drying kiln, none of which are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Sutherland 1878, sheet xcvi), but which may be part of the settlement shown by Roy under the name of Torbrake Moriness (see also NC70NW 4.01). The larger building (ROG95 185, NC 7021 0721) has been a byre-dwelling, with a drain along the S side of the easternmost of three compartments. It measures 16.6m from E to W by 2.7m transversely within faced-rubble footings 0.8m in thickness and 0.3m in height. The entrance, which is in the S side, is approached by a stone path. The second building (ROG95 184, NC 7019 0719) has two compartments and measures 9m from NNE to SSW by 2.5m internally.

The corn-drying kiln (ROG95 183, NC 7019 0721) is levelled into a knoll and the bowl measures 1m in diameter and 1m in height, with the flue on the ENE. A barn, measuring 3.7m from ENE to WSW by 2.3m internally, extends to the ENE of the bowl. The ENE end of the barn cuts the footings of an earlier building which extends a further 6.2m to the ENE. Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 14 May 1995

ID: MHG28049

Type of record: CROFTING TOWNSHIP (Post Medieval - 1560 AD to 1900 AD) Name: Torbreck Burn Grid Reference: NC 70230 07170 Civil Parish: ROGART NMRS Reference: 122394

Full Description

A crofting settlement abandoned in the 18th / 19th century. There are three buildings footings and ruins of a corn-drying kiln; the settlement, which includes the arable ground, has been enclosed by a bank. A later sheepfold, now dilapidated, is on the site. Kiln surveyed at 1:10,000. Visited by OS (J M) 19 May 1981.

An earth-and-stone bank encloses a sub-square area measuring about 200m across on the flat- topped crest of a ridge to the NE of the Torbreck Burn. The heather covering the ridge had been burnt-off shortly before the date of visit. A rectangular, two-compartment fold (NC 7023 0717), which is situated towards the centre of the enclosure, is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6- inch map (Sutherland 1879, sheet xcvi) within a patch of improved ground, which corresponds roughly with the grass-covered ground on the date of visit. The site is named as A’Bhuaile- fhraoich but no further detail is shown.

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Within the S half of the enclosure there are fragments of rig (centred NC 7028 0716) measuring about 4m between furrows. On the S edge of the rig there are two small cairns, measuring up to 3m in diameter and 0.4m in height, with two further small cairns to the N of the farmstead (NC 70NW 5.02). Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 14 May 1995

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Appendix V – Plates

Note: the walking pole used as a scale in the following plates is 1.2m long.

Plate 1: Feature 1 – Clearance Cairn (from SW). Plate 2: Feature 2 – Stone and turf dyke (from S).

Plate 3: Feature 2 – Stone and turf dyke (from SE). Plate 4: Feature 3 – Enclosure (circular) (from E).

Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Plate 5: Feature 4 – Stone and turf dyke (from SE). Plate 6: Features 4 (left) & 5 (right) – Stone and turf dykes (from NW).

Plate 7: Feature 6 – Dam across Torbreck Burn (from S). Plate 8: Feature 7 – Possible shieling (from NW). Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Plate 9: Feature 8 – Hut circle (from N). Plate 10: Feature 9 – Building, with dyke of Feature 2 in background (from E).

Plate 11: Feature 10 – T-shaped building (from SW). Plate 12: Feature 11 – Double compartment building (from E). Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Plate 13: Feature 11 – Detail of dividing wall construction (from S). Plate 14: Feature 12 – 15m long line of boulders trending up slope (from SW).

Plate 15: Feature 13 – 15m long line of boulders trending across slope (from SW). Plate 16: Feature 14 – Clearance cairn (from SW). Morness, Rogart, Sutherland

Plate 17: Feature 15 – Stone and turf head dyke of A’Bhuaile-fhraoich (from W). Plate 18: Feature 16 – Hut circle in deep heather (from E).

Plate 19: Feature 17 – Old peat cuttings, just outwith head dyke (from SW). Plate 20: Feature 18 – Clearance cairn (from SW). Morness, Rogart, Sutherland