Monument record 923 - LOCH NAN GEARRACHAN, NORTH UIST

NF77SE 2 7659 7440.

(NF 7659 7440) The smaller islet of Loch nan Gearrachan is occupied by a circular dun, of which most of the outer wall can be traced.
It is connected to the N shore of the loch by a causeway, partly visible above the water.
E Beveridge 1911.

This island, measuring 10.0m by 8.0m, rises 1.2m above the level of the loch and is almost completely surrounded by a tumbled wall. It is joined to the north shore by a submerged causeway.
Visited by OS (R D) 27 June 1965.

NF 7670 7493 An excavation was conducted at the site of an eroding structure (NMRS NF 77 SE 2) at Airigh Mhic Ruairidh during May 1996. A detailed topographic survey was undertaken of possibly associated features in the immediate environs. The structure lay on heather and grassland on a stretch of eroding coastline at HWM, and prior to discovery its E end had already been eroded by tidal action (see DES 1995, 108). The structure was sub-rectangular, with surviving internal dimensions of 2.1m N-S by 2m. The walls were predominantly of turf, much of it burnt, with a stone foundation revetting the internal face. A narrow stone-lined entrance-passage was recorded on the N wall, and a paved recess or second entrance was identified at the NW corner. Internal features included a trampled floor surface, a shallow bowl hearth, and patches of paving. Twenty sherds of plain pottery were recovered during the excavation. The structural form and the character of the pottery assemblage combine to suggest a medieval or later date for the excavated building. Close parallels for the structural form can be seen in the excavated buildings at nearby Druim nan Dearcag, Loch Olabhat, for which a broadly post-medieval date has been inferred (Armit 1989).
A Data Structure Report has been lodged with the NMRS.
Sponsor: Historic Scotland.
A J Dunwell 1996

A small islet, measuring 10m by 8m lies towards the northern shore of Loch na Gearrachun, and rises 1.2m above the level of the water. It is almost completely surrounded by a tumbled wall. It is joined to the north shore by a largely submerged causeway (NMRS, 1965 visit). Beveridge (1911, 198-9) had previously recorded this as the site of a circular dun, of which most of the outer wall could still be traced. This site was not visited during the current survey.
A. Dunwell (1997)

Erskine Beveridge, 1911, North Uist: its archaeology and topography, 198-9, No. 67 (Bibliographic reference). SWE12876.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 61-2, No. 195 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

I Armit, 1989c, Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 70-71 (Bibliographic reference). SWE10421.

A J Dunwell, 1996, Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 105-106 (Bibliographic reference). SWE38150.

Andrew Dunwell, 1998, Vallay Strand Project 1995-7 (Unpublished document). SWE41015.