Monument record 6928 - South Glen Dale

SU 5:
The fragmentary remains of the earth core and basal courses of the stone faces of a blackhouse are orientated from south-east to north-west and measures 12 x 5.5 metres. There is a single entrance in the centre of the south-west facing wall, and the south-east end is slightly apsoidal in shape and is supported by a low stone terrace across its whole length. The ephemeral remains of a second structure can be seen at the north-west end of the main house. This building survives solely as the largest basal stones from the inner and outer wall faces and measures 7.9 x 4 metres.
Interprtation: This house appears to be of a later pre-crofting form with a single entrance and apsoidal ends. The structure to the north-west is likely to represent the remains of an earlier blackhouse on the same site. The south-east end of the earlier house now lies under the north-west end of the later structure. It is likely that the north-west end of the earlier house was dismantled to provide building materials for the south-east end of the later house. Such a progression of buildings is rare as blackhouse sites tend to move laterally completely off their existing site. This partial shift might suggest that a suitable second site could not be identified or that the south-east end of the earlier structure was deemed to be serviceable enough to avoid its dismantling and rebuilding. These buildings form part of Baile A.
(Babtie Group, 1999)

Babtie Group, 2000, Eriskay Causeway Archaeological Sruvey Draft Report (Unpublished document). SWE41018.