Sallachy North

Loch Shin-side, Parish of Lairg, Sutherland

Sheepfold and shieling site on the SW side of Loch Shin

A Report on an Archaeological Walk-Over Survey Prepared for Scottish Woodlands Ltd

Nick Lindsay B.Sc, Ph.D Tel: 01408 621338 (evenings) Sunnybrae Tel: 01408 635314 (daytime) West Clyne e-mail: [email protected] Brora Sutherland April 2009 KW9 6NH

Sallachy North, 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...... 11 4.0 Conclusions ...... 17

5.0 Recommendations ...... 18

References ...... 19

Appendices ...... 20

Sallachy North, Sutherland

1.0 Executive Summary

An archaeological desk-based study and subsequent walk-over survey of part of Sallachy Estate, near Lairg in Central Sutherland, was undertaken in April 2009. The survey was required by Scottish Woodlands Ltd in support of a recently submitted SRDP application entitled ‘Sallachy Mixed Wood’, under Case No 3879974.

The survey area comprises approximately 400 hectares of gently sloping, open hillside, which is situated on the SW side of Loch Shin, on the NE side of which runs the A838, the main route from Lairg to the north west of Sutherland.

The survey resulted in the recording of 25 archaeological features, the majority of which are just outwith the proposed planting area. None of these features had previously been recorded on the Highland Council Archaeology Unit’s Historic Environment Record (HER).

Sallachy North, Sutherland

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Background

On behalf of the Sallachy Estate, Scottish Woodlands Ltd propose to plant trees on the extensive slopes rising up from the SW shore of Loch Shin. Prior to this, they 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 on it which the proposal may have.

2.2 Objectives

The objectives of this survey were to:

• Identify the cultural heritage baseline within the proposal area.

• Consider the potential impacts of construction 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 and aerial photographs and the Highland Council Archive, in conjunction with many specific and relevant references held locally in Sutherland, in order to identify any known and/or visible archaeology.

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

Few limitations to identifying surface archaeological features are present within the site. The whole site is open and vegetated only by low heather and grass. It has to be borne in mind, however, that archaeology may 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 approximately 400 hectares of gently NE-sloping open hillside, dissected by several minor drainage channels flowing generally towards the north- east into Loch Shin. The majority of the site is covered with heather and grass, resting on peat. There are occasional small outcrops of bedrock, mainly comprising Moine schists and gneisses, which are exposed in the area, as well as some locally originating glacial erratics.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

The area is not now habited, but is set around 2.5km to the SE of the working Cassley Power Station. The site is bounded to the NW by an area of Sallachy Estate already allocated for forestry, currently being planted, the upper slopes of Cnoc a’Bhasid Bhain to the SW, the shore of Loch Shin to the NE and Allt na Crionaiche Bige to the south and east (see Appendix I).

Map evidence indicates that there has never been any habitation within the survey area; there is only a single sheepfold on the site, suggesting that this barren landscape has been used as part of a sheep farm since the Sutherland Clearances of the early 19th Century.

Sallachy North, 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 no recorded sites within the survey area. Similarly, there are no recorded sites within the survey area on the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland’s (RCAHMS) National Monument Record of Scotland (NMRS).

The nearest previously recorded sites to the survey area are approximately 300m to the NW, and these were discovered in 2005, during a walkover survey related to the adjacent new planting area. These comprised a circular sheepfold (marked on the Ordnance Survey 1st Edition map of 1879) and a ‘Possible shieling structure’. An Iron Age crannog is recorded in Loch Shin itself, around ¾km to the east of the survey area (MHG 11896).

3.1.2 Maps

There is only a single sheepfold depicted on the current Ordnance Survey map within the survey area, and this is not noted either on the HER or the NMRS. This sheepfold also appears on the Ordnance Survey 1st Edition map of 1879. There are no other archaeological features shown in the entire survey area.

Investigation into maps of earlier origins shows that no settlement has ever been recorded within the survey area itself, although minor settlements to the NW and SE are recorded on historic maps on the SW shore of Loch Shin.

The whole of the area between Loch Shin and Glen Cassley, to the SW, forms part of the ‘Dirry Meanach Forrest’, as depicted on Blaeu’s 1654 map and ‘Dirry Forest’ on Moll’s map of 1732.

William Roy’s Military Survey of Scotland, of 1747-55, shows much greater detail. It depicts an un-named cluster of 5 buildings, at what is now known as Creanich, around 2km to the NW of the survey area, and 4 buildings and cultivated ground on the northern bank of Allt Car and a similar sized settlement, named Aldtoury, around 3km and 4km respectively to the SE.

The SW shore of Loch Shin is the boundary between the Shinness Sheep Farm and land owned by Sir Charles Ross on an 1813 Sutherland Estate map, showing the newly created sheep farms on the estate.

Thomson’s 1832 map shows nothing to the NW of the survey area, however ‘Shealings of Gruides’ are marked to the SE (it is unclear whether they lie within the survey area), yet Burnett’s 1844 map shows nothing to the SE and ‘Crianach-vore’ (today’s Creanich) to the NW.

The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1879 depicts Crianachmore (Creanich on the 2nd Edition of 1906) as two roofed buildings above a grassy area leading down to the shore of Loch Shin, to the NW. A single, roofed building at Arscaig and an adjacent limekiln (noted as an ‘old limekiln’ on the 2nd Edition), some 7.5km away from the survey area is the closest settlement to the SE. There are also circular sheepfolds depicted just outwith the survey area; one to the NW and one to the SE on the S bank of Allt na Crionaiche Bige.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

3.1.3 Documentary Evidence

Given that there is no recorded archaeology within the survey area itself, there is little historical evidence relating directly to the site. The main focus of human activity in the wider area lies to the SE, on both sides of Loch Shin.

The presence of brochs and hut circles, together with the other recorded ancient monuments dating back as far as the Neolithic to the SE of the site, show that the area has a long lived and rich history. Early colonisers would have grown subsistence crops on the gently sloping hillsides leading down to the shores of Loch Shin. They would have hunted on the hillsides and fished in the loch and, with the evidence of the hut circles stretching along both sides of Loch Shin, it appears that several communities would have been able to sustain an existence there.

The abundance of Norse names in the Lairg area indicates that it was an area of settlement in the early Mediaeval. The parish of Lairg is dedicated to St Maolrubha and Pont depicts ‘Ylen Mulry’ on an island in Loch Shin on his late 16th Century map, this possibly being a religious cell established by the early Christian saint.

Sir Robert Gordon (1630) states that the survey area was part of the Barony of Gruids. This barony formed the western part of Braechat, the Heights of Sutherland, and the interior of what is now the County of Sutherland.

Perhaps the largest upheaval in the wider area’s history occurred during the notorious Sutherland Clearances of the early 19th Century. To make way for the more profitable sheep, the tenants, who had farmed the land for countless generations, were removed, mercilessly in some cases, by the agents of the Sutherland Estate. The adjacent Shinness Sheep Farm, only the second to be created on the estate in 1808, was first tenanted by Duncan Matheson, the wadsetter of Shinness.

The Gruids evictions commenced in 1813 and culminated in the Gruids riots of 1821. Along with Achness in the parish of Clyne, it was the last futile resistance to the Sutherland evictions of the early 19th Century. It appears likely that the sheepfolds along the SW shore of Loch Shin were constructed for the new sheep farm.

The main dwelling at Creanich, now dilapidated, but still roofed, appears to have been inhabited up until around the 1940s (Dagg, 2005) by a shepherd and his family. Indeed, as an example, the 1891 census records that one Murdo MacLennan, shepherd, lived there with his wife, four daughters, and a general servant, and another shepherd, William McKenzie was boarding there too.

More recently, the construction of the Shin Hydro Scheme in the early 1950s, with its large Cassley Power Station building to the NW of Creanich, now dominating the SW shore of Loch Shin, has affected the morphology of the immediate area. The level of the loch has risen approximately 11m following the construction of the associated dam at Lairg, with the resultant loss from view of any archaeological remains on the former shoreline.

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,

Sallachy North, Sutherland 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 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

Sallachy North, Sutherland 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.

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

Sallachy North, Sutherland 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 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

Sallachy North, Sutherland 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.

Sallachy North, 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, with significant new discoveries highlighted in italics.

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

3.2.2 Field Results

The site was visited on April 2nd 2009. The weather was gloriously sunny, after early morning mist had receded.

There were 25 archaeological features recorded in total, however only 3 were within the site boundary. The other 22 archaeological features were just outwith the site boundary, but were recorded to complete the archaeological setting and to ensure that any operations associated with this proposal outwith the site boundary did not compromise the integrity of these features.

For ease of identification and placement, Features 1-9 were marked on the ground by a cane with ribbon. Features 14 and 21, were marked similarly, as they formed the westernmost features of the Allt na Crionaiche Bige area, all of which were outwith the site boundary.

Feature 1. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244093 920413. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

One of the three features lying within the proposed planting area.

The outline of a shieling, measuring 7m x 3m (tapering to 2m at its NE end), is set into the NE side of a small, grassy knoll (Plate 1). The upper, SW gable end is the most prominent part of the structure, being 1m thick and recessed into the main part of the knoll. The lower, NE gable end is slightly rounded and also contains some visible stone in its construction. The walls comprise a single skin of football-sized boulders, mostly overgrown with moss and some heather, standing <0.3m high and the level of the interior is around 1m below the upper gable

Sallachy North, Sutherland end. The longsides of the building trend 0720. A 0.5m wide entrance is situated in the SE wall, near the SW gable.

Feature 2. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244128 920399. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

One of the three features lying within the proposed planting area.

A complex shieling set on the SE side and beneath the crest of a large grassy knoll, around 5m to the NW of a small burn (Plate 2). It is rectangular in plan, but with a bulbous SW end and a bulbous, interconnected outshot to the NW towards its SW end. It has a 3.5m long, non- interconnecting compartment at its NE end and it measures 10m x 2.5m (tapering to 2m at its NE end) in total and the outshot is 2m long, jutting out from the main building line for 2.5m. A 0.5m wide entrance is situated in the SE wall of the NE compartment. Its low walls of single- skinned football-sized boulders are barely visible, being mostly overgrown with moss and grass and stand <0.3m high. The NW sidewall is partly recessed into the knoll. The longsides of the building trend 0680.

Feature 3. Shieling/possible dwelling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244167 920409. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

What looks to be more prominent than a shieling, may well have developed from one originally, to become a more permanent, pre-clearance dwelling, is situated on the NE side of a grassy knoll (Plate 3). This structure has a double-skinned SW gable end and SE sidewall standing 0.4m high. The meeting of this gable and sidewall is beautifully square, displaying a more planned and intricate method of construction than a ‘normal’ shieling. The walling here is 0.7m thick and comprises angular (but not dressed), breeze block-sized boulders.

An internal wall divides the structure into a larger NE part and a smaller SW part (the most substantially constructed part of the structure) and its lower, NE end is rounded. It measures 9m x 3m (tapering to 2m at its NE end), and 0.5m wide entrances are present in the SE wall, of both compartments. The longsides of the building trend 0310.

Feature 4. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244139 920429. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

An oval shieling, divided into two equal-sized, non-interconnecting compartments by an internal wall, is set on top of a small grassy knoll, occupying most of its upper area. Its lower, N end, with walls no more than a shallow linear, grass-covered mound, around 1m wide, is less distinct than its upper, S end, in which stone is clearly visible in its walls. It measures 8m x 3m, and no entrances are visible in either compartment. The longsides of the building trend 0020.

Feature 5. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244143 920453. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Directly downslope of Feature 4 (above) is another shieling, set on a linear grassy knoll. It is less distinct than those previously recorded and appears to be rectangular in outline, with a possible outshot protruding from the SW end of its NW side. It measures 8m x 2.5m and the outshot is 3m long, extending out from the main building line for 1.5m. Occasional boulders are

Sallachy North, Sutherland visible in the walls; however most of the walling is overgrown with moss and grass. The longsides of the building trend 0370.

Feature 6. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244137 920462. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

An oval shieling, with a possible rectangular, inter-connecting outshot, is set on top of a grassy knoll (Plate 4). Only occasional boulders are visible in its low linear mounded walls; however most of the walling is overgrown with moss and grass, and, although the whole structure is rather enigmatic, its outline is defined by its depression in the surface of the knoll. It measures 6.5m x 3m (tapering to 2.5m at its SE end) and the outshot is 2m long, extending out from the main SE building line for 1m at its SW end. The longsides of the building trend 0310, centrally placed in both sides of which are 0.5m wide entrances.

Feature 7. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244151 920471. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

A small, square shieling, possibly used as storage, is set on the NW side of a grassy knoll (Plate 5). It measures 2.5m x 2.5m and its lower NW side is defined by a row of 4 angular, breeze block-sized boulders, trending 0420. Its other 3 wall sides appear only to consist of low linear mounds of moss and heather-overgrown turf. Its internal area is only 1.5m square. There is a possible 0.5m wide entrance in its upper, SE side.

Feature 8. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244179 920465. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

A rectangular shieling with a bulbous S end and a possible rectangular, interconnected outshot to the N of its W side, is set on top of a large grassy knoll. Its total size is 11m x 3m (tapering to 2m at its N end) and the outshot is 2m long, jutting out from the main W building line for 2m. The 3.5m long bulbous S end is a non-interconnecting compartment. Its low walls of occasionally visible boulders (mainly in its N gable) are mostly overgrown with moss and grass and stand <0.3m high. The longsides of the building trend 0040.

Feature 9. Shieling. Sheepfold Area. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244211 920456. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

A complex shieling set on the crest of a large grassy knoll. It is lozenge-shaped in plan, but with an interconnected outshot on its S sidewall. It has a 4m long, non-interconnecting compartment at its W end and it measures 10.5m x 3m. The outshot is 3m long, jutting out from the main building line for 2m. The front wall of the outshot is revetted by a single line of 11 small boulders just at the break of slope down from the top of the knoll. A pair of possible 0.5m wide entrances are situated either side of the outshot on the S wall. Its low mounded linear walls display a few boulders, but are mostly overgrown with moss and grass; they stand <0.3m high and are spread to 1m wide. The longsides of the building trend 1070.

Feature 10. Sheepfold, circular. Sheepfold Area. Post-Clearance. Grid Reference: 244155 920332. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. On 1st Edition OS map.

One of the three features lying within the proposed planting area.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

A 10m internal diameter, stone-built sheepfold is set on the same grassy grazing grounds as the older shielings it superseded (Plate 6). Its walls are largely intact, standing 1.5m high, only having tumbled for a 10m section in its N arc and for a 4m section immediately to the E of the 0.6m wide entrance to 1850. Its walls are 0.8m wide at the base, tapering to 0.5 wide at the top.

Feature 11. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245453 918910. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

A lozenge-shaped shieling situated on the S bank of a small burn. No stone is visible in its linear mounded walls, overgrown with moss, grass and reeds, which stand 0.5m high and are spread to 1m wide. A less prominent, non-interconnecting compartment appears to be attached to its SW, with a 0.5m wide entrance at its SW end. The total dimensions of the structure are 7m x 3m, with the SW compartment accounting for 3m of its length. A possible 0.5m wide entrance is placed centrally on the main NE compartment, facing the burn on its NW side. The longsides of the building trend 0480.

Feature 12. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245433 918914. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

A lozenge-shaped shieling, with four compartments – 2 bulbous end compartments and 2 rectangular central compartments - situated on the S bank of a small burn. Stone is only visible in its upper, SW end, the remainder of the outline being defined by 0.8m high linear mounded walls, overgrown with moss, grass and reeds, which are spread to 1m wide. None of the compartments appear to be interconnecting and the SW bulbous end compartment has a 0.5m wide entrance at its SW end. Similar sized entrances to the other compartments are found along its SE sidewall, although there is another possible entrance to the main SW rectangular compartment on its NW side, facing the burn. The total dimensions of the structure are 13m x 3m, with each of the end compartments accounting for 3m of its length. The longsides of the building trend 0800.

Feature 13. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245428 918920. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

A reed covered, oval-shaped shieling, measuring 9m x 3.5m, is set 7m off the W end of Feature 12 (above). Some stone is visible in its NE end. Its linear mounded walls stand 0.7m high and are spread to 1m wide. The reeds obscure any detail other than a 2m long, non-interconnecting bulbous SW end. The longsides of the building trend 0260.

Feature 14. Shieling/possible dwelling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245382 918930. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

In the cleft between two burns, a stone gabled, rectangular building is situated 5m to the W of the burn bank (Plate 7). Almost totally engulfed by reeds, its outline measures 10m x 3.5m and its W gable is the most prominent part, being constructed of several courses of stone surviving to 0.6m high and 0.6m wide. Its lower, E gable end is moss covered and its sidewalls, which trend 0800. are barely visible. There is a possible internal division, 3m from the lower E end.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Feature 15. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245354 918885. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Barrel-shaped shieling, with grass and moss-covered, thick, linear mounded walls, standing 0.8m high and spread to 1m wide. Reeds are growing within its sunken interior and it measures 8m x 3.5m, with a centrally placed 0.5m wide entrance in its SE side. The longsides of the structure trend 0600.

Feature 16. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245338 918866. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Barrel-shaped shieling, with a 3m long, non-interconnecting compartment at its S end, with grass and moss-covered, thick, linear mounded walls, standing 0.8m high and spread to 1m wide. Reeds are growing within its sunken interior and it measures 10m x 3m. It has a 0.5m wide entrance to the main NE compartment, centrally placed in its SE side. The longsides of the structure trend 0210.

Feature 17. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245351 918843. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Quite degraded oval shieling mound, covered in moss and grass, with reeds growing within its sunken interior. Its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide and it measures 10m x 3m. The longsides of the structure trend 0550.

Feature 18. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245363 918845. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Another, quite degraded, oval shieling mound, covered in moss and grass, with reeds growing within its sunken interior. No stone is visible in its thick, linear mounded walls, which stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide and it measures 12m x 4m. The longsides of the structure trend 0630.

Feature 19. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245378 918873. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Very degraded oval shieling mound, covered in moss, grass and reeds. No internal structures are visible and its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide. It measures 7m x 3m and its longsides trend 0310.

Feature 20. Sheepfold, circular. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Post-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245377 918828. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. On 1st Edition OS map.

An 11m internal diameter, dilapidated, stone-built sheepfold is set on the same grassy grazing grounds as the older shielings it superseded (Plate 8). Its walls are only intact in two small sections in its W and NW arcs, standing here 1.6m high. The remainder of the structure has tumbled and much of the stone appears to have been robbed. The ground level remains of its 0.5m wide entrance are oriented upslope to 2160. Its walls are 0.7m wide at the base, tapering to 0.5 wide at the top.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Feature 21. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245305 918852. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Simple, degraded, lozenge-shaped shieling set on the opposite, NW bank of the small burn to the majority of its neighbouring shielings. Its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide and are moss-covered in its upper section and reed-covered at its lower end, in which stone is visible in its construction. It measures 8m x 3.5m and its longsides trend 0560.

Feature 22. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245306 918813. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Lozenge-shaped shieling, with a 5m long, non-interconnecting compartment at its W end. Its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide and are covered in moss and reeds. Its internal division consists of moss-covered stones and is 0.5m thick. The structure measures 11m x 3.5m and its longsides trend 0700.

Feature 23. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245286 918815. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Lozenge-shaped shieling, with a 5m long, non-interconnecting compartment at its SW end. Its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide and are overgrown with reeds and moss. It measures 10m x 3m and its longsides trend 0480.

Feature 24. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245263 918789. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Degraded, lozenge-shaped shieling, with centrally placed internal division. Being so overgrown with reeds, it is unclear whether the two compartments are internally connected and no entrances can be determined. Its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide. It measures 8m x 3m and its longsides trend 0400.

Feature 25. Shieling. Allt na Crionaiche Bige. Pre-Clearance. Grid Reference: 245268 918779. 5m. HER Reference: Not on HER. Not on map.

Reed-covered, barrel-shaped shieling with a centrally placed internal division. Its thick, linear mounded walls stand 0.4m high and are spread to 1m wide. It measures 9m x 3m and its longsides trend 0500.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

4.0 Conclusions

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

This aim was achieved, with 25 sites being recorded during the current survey, all of which were previously unrecorded.

All of the archaeology was found in two discrete clusters on the shores of Loch Shin. Nothing was discovered on the main hillside slopes of the survey area.

The 2 Pre-clearance shieling clusters (one of which may be the ‘Shealings of Gruides’, on Thomson’s 1832 map) each with a later, Post-clearance sheepfold in their midst, using the same, traditional summer grazing ground, are regarded as being of important local archaeological significance as per National Policy Planning Guideline 5, considering the paucity of archaeology on this part of the SW side of Loch Shin.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

5.0 Recommendations

Given the local importance of the 2 shieling clusters within the proximity of the site, these areas should be protected with a 20m no-planting buffer zone, as indicated on the map of Appendix III. The majority of the newly discovered archaeology lies just outwith the site (only 3 features were found to be actually within the site boundary), but operations connected with fence erection and excavator digging on the peripheries may impact on these features.

All features in the ‘Sheepfold’ area (Features 1-9) were marked on the ground by a cane with ribbon. Features 14 and 21, were similarly marked, as they formed the westernmost features of the Allt na Crionaiche Bige area.

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

In summary:

• 20m no-planting/no encroachment buffer zone to be preserved around the shieling areas (both within and outwith site) for their protection during planting operations

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

Sallachy North, Sutherland

References

Dagg, Catherine. 2005. Sallachy Estate. Parish of Lairg, Sutherland. Proposed Area of Forestry: Archaeological Evaluation.

Ketteringham, Lesley. 2004. A History of Lairg.

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

Nicolaisen, William F. H., 2001. Scottish Place Names.

Oman, Donald, 1982. The Sutherland Book.

Ordnance Survey maps – various.

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Appendices

Appendix I Site Location Map

Appendix II Summary Table of Features

Appendix III Feature Location Maps

Appendix IV Plates

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Appendix I – Site Location Map

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Appendix II – Summary Table of Features

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Feature Type Easting Northing Age HER No No 1 Shieling 244093 920413 Pre-Clearance - 2 Shieling 244128 920399 Pre-Clearance - 3 Shieling/possible dwelling 244167 920409 Pre-Clearance - 4 Shieling 244139 920429 Pre-Clearance - 5 Shieling 244143 920453 Pre-Clearance - 6 Shieling 244137 920462 Pre-Clearance - 7 Shieling 244151 920471 Pre-Clearance - 8 Shieling 244179 920465 Pre-Clearance - 9 Shieling 244211 920456 Pre-Clearance - 10 Sheepfold, circular 244155 920332 Post-Clearance - 11 Shieling 245453 918910 Pre-Clearance - 12 Shieling 245433 918914 Pre-Clearance - 13 Shieling 245428 918920 Pre-Clearance - 14 Shieling/possible dwelling 245382 918930 Pre-Clearance - 15 Shieling 245354 918885 Pre-Clearance - 16 Shieling 245338 918866 Pre-Clearance - 17 Shieling 245351 918843 Pre-Clearance - 18 Shieling 245363 918845 Pre-Clearance - 19 Shieling 245378 918873 Pre-Clearance - 20 Sheepfold, circular 245377 918828 Post-Clearance - 21 Shieling 245305 918852 Pre-Clearance - 22 Shieling 245306 918813 Pre-Clearance - 23 Shieling 245286 918815 Pre-Clearance - 24 Shieling 245263 918789 Pre-Clearance - 25 Shieling 245268 918779 Pre-Clearance -

(see details in section 3.2 - Field Survey)

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Appendix III – Feature Location Maps

Sallachy North, Sutherland

Appendix IV – Plates

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

Plate 1: Feature 1 – Shieling outline on grassy knoll (from W). Plate 2: Feature 2 – Shieling with outshot (from N).

Plate 3: Feature 3 – More substantial shieling/building (from SW). Plate 4: Feature 6 – Shieling mound on top of grassy knoll (from N). Sallachy North, Sutherland

Plate 5: Feature 7 – Small, 2.5m square shieling (from W). Plate 6: Feature 10 – Sheepfold in front of shieling mounds (from S).

Plate 7: Feature 14 – W gable of building adjacent to small burn (from W). Plate 8: Feature 20 – Sheepfold in front of shieling mounds (from S). Sallachy North, Sutherland