Monument record 929 - CNOC A'COMHDALACH, VALLAY STRAND, NORTH UIST

NF77SE 3 7708 7415.

(NF 7705 7417) Cnoc a' Comhdhalach, an aisled round house (L Scott 1948; Visible on RAF air photographs 540/509: pt II: 4050-1: flown 23 May 1951) situated 400 yards N of Loch nan Clachan and within 30 yards of the west shore of Vallay Strand. Excavated in 1905-7 by Beveridge when at least five periods of occupation were identified, all separated by long periods of disuse.
In addition to kitchen-midden remains finds included objects of stone and flint (including a leaf-shaped arrow- head), pottery, bone and bronze. (E Beveridge 1911)
The finds are in the NMAS.
E Beveridge 1911; L Scott 1948; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1912 and 1922.

NF 7708 7415 This feature (the name of which could not be confirmed) is as described and planned above and is poorly preserved.
Surveyed at 1/10,560.
Some 30.0m to the NE there are the remains of a rectangular structure (probably a later building) with an enclosing wall on the SE side. Visited by OS (W D J) 20 June 1965.

An aisled roundhouse was excavated by Erskine Beveridge in 1905-7, revealing at least five periods of occupation, all separated by periods of disuse. The primary structure identified by Beveridge was a radially partitioned roundhouse 7-8m across internally; seven piers were present, linked to the main walls by lintels. The central area contained a rectangular hearth. The entrance to this structure was by a curvilinear passage ( apparently composite ) . A passage and a cell within the thickness of the wall suggest the presence of a primary broch or related structure, which was not identified by Beveridge ( see also V4, V6 for similar arguments ). Conversely, Sharples and Parker pearson ( 1997) have urged that Beveridge may have removed a tuft wall core and misinterpreted it as the fill of an intra-mural feature. A variety of secondary structures abut the east wall, and are of uncertain date. Some rabbit burrowing is currently present in the interior of the structure, but probably into the backfill of Beveridge's excavations. A rectilinear building lies c.30m to the NE, from which post medieval pottery has been recovered (NF 77 SE 24; DES 1980, 42). This building measures 9m by 4.5m internally, with walls surviving to 1m high, and contains a series of secondary internal partitions and sub-square cells.
Dunwell 1997

Erskine Beveridge, 1911, North Uist: its archaeology and topography, 200-206, No. 70 plan (Bibliographic reference). SWE12876.

PSAS, 1911-12, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 332-3 (Bibliographic reference). SWE9079.

PSAS, 1921-2, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 17 (Bibliographic reference). SWE9178.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 87-8, No. 269 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

L Scott, 1948, Proc Prehist Soc, 73 (Bibliographic reference). SWE6434.

A Young, 1952-3, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 94, 97, No. 29 (Bibliographic reference). SWE8433.

D V Clarke, 1971b, Scot Archaeol Forum, 51, No. 15 (Bibliographic reference). SWE1066.

T Fanning, 1983, Some aspects of the bronze ringed pin in Scotland, 335, No. 10 (Bibliographic reference). SWE2007.

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