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MHG64529 - Clearance cairn - Loch Poll

Summary

A single cairn, up to 3 m across and 0.7 m high.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A rapid pre-afforestation survey by Headland Archaeology Ltd, was undertaken in 1997 at Cona Chreag on the Stoer Common Grazings, near Lochinver.

This is an extensive and structurally diverse settlement. It comprises elements of stone and stone-and-turf construction and structures and enclosures of various sizes. The presence of a substantial head-dyke (Site 4a), lazy-bed cultivation (Site 4i), areas of adjacent (and presumably contemporary) peat-cutting and possibly corn-drying (Site 4d) clearly imply that this is unlikely to represent the remains of a shieling settlement. The evidence of the clearance cairns (Sites 2, 4b, 4 c & 4f) and the adjacent areas of old pasture would point to the same conclusion. The place-name evidence, presumably preserved in the loch name, Loch Poll, would also suggest that the settlement is possibly of some antiquity. Derived from the Old Norse bolstadr (farm), and preserved in its Gaelic-Scandinavian hybrid form (boll /poll /pool / bo), the name remained a creative name-forming element for a considerable time and was used wherever permanent settlements were formed by the Norse: Nicolaisen (1976, 92), for example, has considered the bolstadr distribution as 'the map of Norse settlement in the Northern and Western Isles and adjacent mainland when such settlement was at its most extensive and Norse power at its height'. The settlement remains on the side of Loch Poll, potentially, have a very early origin indeed. The date of its abandonment is not known, although a clearance-period date might be assumed.

Site 4c: Clearance cairns. Two cairns, up to 3.5 m across and 0.8 m high, are located in an area of old improved pasture on the slopes overlooking Loch Poll, to the south-east of Site 4b. The features are located inside the head-dyke (Site 4a), to the north-west of the settlement focus. The cairns, like the formerly cleared area around it, are covered in bracken and coarse grass. Nonetheless, the features are well defined and clearly visible. <1>

Note: Site not visible on aerial photographs so location based on grid coordinates. (TB 28/7/25)

Sources/Archives (1)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 0991 2986 (21m by 21m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC02NE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	ASSYNT

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (1)