Print

MHG64200 - House - Bad an Dobhrain, Arisaig

Summary

Round ended drystone building.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

An archaeological assessment was carried out by J G Robertson in 1996 as part of an environmental impact assessment for a proposed Woodland Grant Scheme application. The assessment consisted largely of the detailed study of a single 1988 aerial photograph.

Site 25: House. Isolated house at Bad an Dobhrain, almost completely hidden and perched on a steep slope, where the laird, in about 1875, installed a tenant, MacDonald, with a whisky still, to avoid the excise man at Egnaig. A wall immediately in front of the house protected the inhabitants from the the sheer cliff below, and further irregularly placed walls behind the house restrained the cow. Two small "brew-houses" were situated on the stream above the house.
Refs: Wendy Wood: liaidartansllicrar, 1950, 143
Recommendation: Locate and record in detail. <1>

A follow-up full walkover survey was conducted by Wordsworth Archaeological Services in 1996.

Site No: 25
Site name Bad an Dobhrain
Description: Close to the shore is a round ended drystone building 7.5m by 4m aligned E/W. The walls are up to 1.8m high by 0.6m wide. There are windows and a doorway on the S but no chimney or gables. To the S is a small revetting wall running towards the burn at the E. This is clearly the house site described by Wendy Wood. Though there is a precipitous cliff in front of the house, there is also a small natural terrace which has probably been cultivated on the evidence of clearance cairns surviving to the W. The burn to the W has been revetted and there are enclosure walls running above the house between the burns, similar to those observed above Aultgill & Egnaig. At the mouth of the burn there is a small slipway suggesting the main access to this site was from the sea. Any landward access is now precipitous, though there may once have been paths to Egnaig and the shieling site 29 above.
Recommendation: Ideally the trees around this house and the smalterrace in front should be cleared so that it can be displayed. However access to this site is difficult and for safety reasons it may be better not to encourage people to visit it. <2>

Note: Site not visible on aerial photographs so location based on grid coordinates. (TB 14/5/25)

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NM 6540 7498 (41m by 42m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NM67SE
Civil Parish	ARISAIG AND MOIDART
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (2)

External Links (0)