Monument record 899 - EILEAN OLAVAT, LOCH OLAVAT, GRIMINISH, NORTH UIST

NF77NW 13 7496 7528.

The site of Eilean Olavat is a former island, now a promontory joined to the S shore of Loch Olavat due to a fall in loch level and peat growth. The original island was some 80m by 60m in extent and was two-thirds surrounded by the remains of a drystone wall with a narrow entrance facing the shore. On the summit, some 2 to 3m above loch level, were the grassed-over remains of two drystone structures, one a mound some 10m in overall diameter and the other an adjacent small rectangular struc structure. The first of these structures was partially excavated along with a section through the outer wall at the entrance. Iron Age pottery was recovered from the earliest layers so far exposed in the structure. Subsequent use of the site for metal-working has produced fragments of moulds, crucibles, slag and charcoal along with Iron Age pottery, all coming from a small corbelled cell. The final phase involved the insertion of a partly slab-walled structure into the rubble of the previous structures, reminiscent of other Hebridean Dark Age sites. This structural change is accompanied by a change in pottery styles. A clear glass melon bead was among the finds.
I Armit 1986.

Charcoal from a spread of burnt material in the centre of the earliest occupation deposits excavated in 1986 gave a C-14 date of 2010 +/- 50 bp (60 +/- 50 bc) (GU 2326). This deposit was associated with pottery of later iron age type decorated with applied cordons. Charcoal associated with the main dump of metal-working debris gave a C-14 date of 1800 +/- 50 bp (150 +/- 50 ad) (GU 2327); this charcoal relates to the metal-working process.
I Armit 1988.

A second season of excavations was carried out in 1989. The aims of the excavation were to clarify the structural sequence and amplify the 1986 evidence for on-site metalworking. A geophysical survey of the enclosed area was also undertaken, as was a programme of trial trenching to investigate possible activity areas outwith the small central settlement focus.
The structural sequence was longer and more complex than initially suspected. It comprised 5 main phases. In Phase 1 (earliest) a substantial kerbed and paved hearth and a series of post-holes, cut into naturally deposited silts, represent the remains of a probable domestic structure. This was almost wholly destroyed in the construction of the Phase 2 structure, an oval revetted building with two stone piers creating an inturned entrance. This structure had extensive, regular paving in its centre and a central post support, formed by carving out one of the paving stones. The periphery was unpaved and the structure lacked any indication of a formal hearth.
This building was modified and re-used throughout Phase 3 by the construction of a series of small cells. It was in this phase that most evidence of metalworking occurs, although there is little to suggest more than a single, casual episode. Mould fragments, crucibles, slag, tuyere etc have been recovered from these deposits although actual metal objects are scarce. The assemblage includes moulds for pins and penannular brooches although none appear as diagnostic as the handpin mould recovered in 1986. In Phase 4 a two-roomed rectilinear structure was inserted into the remains of the complex. This structure was re-used after collapse in Phase 5 along with a second rectilinear structure and various small external activity areas.
The ceramic assemblage was rich and suggests occupation throughout the 1st millennium AD for Phases 1-4. No trace of Norse pottery was noted during the excavation. Phase 5 may represent sporadic re-use in the medieval and post-medieval periods.
Sponsors: National Museum of Scotland, Russell Trust, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Hunter Archaeological Trust.
I Armit 1988b.

A second season of excavations was carried out in 1989. The aims of the excavation were to clarify the structural sequence and amplify the 1986 evidence for on-site metal-working. A geophysical survey of the enclosed area was also undertaken, as was a programme of trial trenching to investigate possible activity areas outwith the small central settlement focus.
The structural sequence was longer and more complex than initially suspected. It comprised five main phases. In Phase 1 (earliest) a substantial kerbed and paved hearth and a series of postholes, cut into naturally deposited silts, represent the remains of a probable domestic structure. This was almost wholly destroyed in the construction of the Phase 2 structure, an oval revetted building with two stone piers creating an in-turned entrance. This structure had extensive, regular paving in its centre and a central post support, formed by carving out one of the paving stones. The periphery was unpaved and the structure lacked any indication of a formal hearth.
This building was modified and re-used throughout Phase 3 by the construction of a series of small cells. It was in this phase that most evidence of metal-working occurs, although there is little to suggest more than a single, casual, episode. Mould fragments, crucibles, slag, tuyere etc. have been recovered from these deposits although actual metal objects are scarce. The assemblage includes moulds for pins and penannular brooches, although none appear as diagnostic as the hand-pin mould recovered in 1986. In Phase 4 a two-roomed rectilinear structure was inserted into the remains of the complex. This structure was re-used after collapse in Phase 5 along with a second rectilinear structure and various small external activity areas.
The ceramic assemblage was rich and suggests occupation throughout the first millennium AD for Phases 1-4. No trace of Norse pottery was noted during the excavation. Phase 5 may represent sporadic re-use in the medieval and post-medieval periods.
I Armit 1989.

NF 7496 7528 Sherd of ceramic crucible recovered from deposits eroding from inside the N projecting pier in an oval revetted structure at Eilean Olabhat, North Ust (NMRS NF 77 NW 13). The building has been dated to the mid- to late 1st millennium BC. Deposited with the NMS pending formal allocation (Arch.DB.2000/106)
Gilmour, S 2000, 96

I. Armit, 1986a, Excavations at Loch Olabhat, North Uist 1986: 1st interim report, 4-7 (Unpublished document). SWE13126.

I Armit, 1986b, University of Edinburgh, Dept. of Archaeology Annual Report no. 32, 32 (Bibliographic reference). SWE13127.

I Armit, 1986c, Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 45 (Bibliographic reference). SWE13128.

I Armit, 1988-9f, University of Edinburgh, Department of Archaeology, Annual Report, 23, no. 8.7 (Bibliographic reference). SWE18952.

I. Armit, 1988a, Excavations at Loch Olabhat, North Uist 1988, 3rd interim report, 33, 39 (Unpublished document). SWE13133.

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 2000, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41184.