Building record MAB3204 - SNEISHIN HILL

A hut-circle and associated field system, possibly of Bronze Age/Iron Age date.

A hut-circle and associated field system, possibly of Bronze Age/Iron Age date. A stone-walled oval hut, circa 14 m east- west by circa 12.5 m north-south, lies on the north edge of a contemporary field system. The wall is cut in the west and south by a drain which has exposed the rubble core. The entrance in the east is ill-defined and is also mutilated by the drain. Plots are ill-defined but stone clearance heaps, lynchets and field walls are evident. The site was visited by RCAHMS in 1991 when the hut circle now measured 11.6 m from west-southwest to east-northeast by 11 m transversely within a bank spread 3.1 m in breadth and 0.5 m in height. An extensive scatter of small cairns measuring up to 8 m in diameter and 0.5 m in height, occupy the summit and the north, west and south flanks of the hill. At the time of a field visit by Highland Archaeology in 2012 (part of a walkover survey ahead of a proposed windfarm development) the area was under deep heather which obscured some features and the survey did not locate definite examples of clearance cairns, field walls or lynchets although there was clear evidence of extensive peat workings and peat-stack bases. The survey recorded the hut-circle as having an external diameter of 15-16 m and internal diameter of 11-12 m, with wall footings up to 0.5 m high and spread between 2 and 3 m. There is some damage from forestry ploughing on the south side. The survey also recorded a group of shooting butts of probable 20th century date in a line running northwest – southeast across the hill, a probable 20th century quarry at NJ 0307 4820, and an undated but probably modern stone heap at NJ 0294 4780.

HIGHLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, PROPOSED WINDFARM: HILL OF GLASCHYLE , MORAY: CULTURAL HERITAGE BASELINE DATA SURVEY REPORT AND ASSESSMENT (Bibliographic reference). SAB4392.

Record last edited

May 14 2020 12:53PM