Monument record 13575 - SOUTH UIST, MILTON HOUSE

NF72NW 36 734 262

NF 764 474 to NF 758 140 The South Uist machair has been surveyed between 1993-1996, from Cille Bhrighde (West Kilbride) in the extreme S of the island to Baile Gharbhaidh (Balgarva) at the N end of the island, a distance of 35km. This year, the number of known prehistoric and Early Historic settlement sites has now increased from 81 to 176.
The continuing pattern of Iron Age-Viking Age settlement clusters along the machair supports the hypothesis of 'proto-townships'; that the system of land allotment amongst the townships is essentially an Iron Age phenomenon which survived substantially intact until the Clearances of the early 19th century (see unpublished reports, Sheffield University). An unusual concentration of sites was found at Machair Mheadhanach in the Iochdar (Eochar) area, N of the rocket range and W of Loch Bee; some 35 settlement sites, ranging in date from the Late Bronze Age to the early post-medieval period, are strung out within a 2km line along a NW-SE axis. This multifocal pattern is very different from other settlement patterns on South Uist but still fits the 'proto-township' model.
The second major concentration of sites is at Drimore where a group of 14 settlement sites, of various dates, are arranged in a SSE-NNW line 750m long. Most of these were identified in the 1950s during survey and excavation in advance of the construction of the rocket range.
The pattern of hypothesised proto-townships throughout the survey area (unpublished report, Sheffield University) holds reasonably well but there are gaps for each of the six 'shieling' (gearraidh) townships of South Uist. This suggests that these shieling townships may have formed in the medieval period by sub-division of larger units, and thus do not have prehistoric predecessors. Other medieval peatland settlements are tentatively identified at Upper Bornish, Aisgernis (Askernish), Frobost and Cille Pheadair (Kilpheder). There is a strong possibility that most of the nucleated villages mapped by William Bald in 1805 are located on earlier post-medieval and medieval settlements. The movement of settlement off the machair mainly occurred in the post-Norse medieval period. The only exceptions are Baghasdal, where the machair settlement was abandoned only after 1805 supposedly due to 'machair fever' (James MacDonald pers comm), and Machair Mheadhanach which was deserted some time between 1654 and 1805.
Sponsor:
Sheffield University.
M Parker Pearson 1996

NF 734 262 Milton House and its associated barns were studied in 1997. A building survey of the farmstead was carried out, which included drawing exterior elevations, exterior and interior photography and the production of measured floor plans. A walkover survey of the immediate environs to investigate the boundary walls and other features was also undertaken. The farmhouse is thought to be early to mid-19th century in date, and of two, possibly three, phases. The main barns were built in 1857, and the whole farm complex is almost identical to Bornish House (to the N) and Askernish House (to the S) which, like Milton house, were built during the introduction of widescale sheep farming on the island in the early 1800s. The materials and building methods used are in stark contrast to the traditional building types of the 18th and 19th-century settlement.
Sponsor:
Earthwatch.
J Symonds, A Badcock and Klemperer 1998, 104

NF 734 262 In July 1998 resistivity survey, excavation and topographic survey were carried out around Milton House Farm, following the building survey carried out the previous year (see above). The resistivity survey identified several anomalies in the 'garden' at the front of the building, and four trial trenches were positioned to investigate these anomalies. The remains of the trackway running from the machair to the front door of the house was uncovered, and found to be constructed of imported beach sand, with a layer of beach pebbles packed to form a surface. Substantial post-holes indicated the position of the main gateway. Other trenches revealed large and well-constructed stone-lined drainage ditches ('french drains'), which the geophysical survey indicated ran at 7m intervals across the front garden. A revetted paved area and substantial wall foundation were found adjacent to the trackway. Pottery recovered from the wall suggests an early 19th-century date, and may indicate settlement prior to the construction of Milton House Farm.
Excavation of a structure next to the large barn complex was also carried out. It contained a very large corn dryer, a clay-lined threshing floor and a paved storage area. Samples were taken for phosphate and environmental analysis. Topographic survey in the farmstead surroundings helped to illustrate the relationship of the farm to the surrounding low-lying areas.
Sponsors:
Boston University, Earthwatch.
J Symonds, M Beaudry and S Brighton 1998, 104

Awaiting DES 2000 entry (2000/p.101).
REPORT DATE: 11/06/2001

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 1998, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41173.