This
broch lies on a mound overlooking the Sutherland coast
(59Kb)
Carn Liath (the grey cairn), although not as good as the best brochs,
is worth visiting. Occupying a rocky terrace overlooking the Sutherland
coast, this broch has walls that still stand 3.6 m (12 ft) high in places
and the entrance passage and lintelled doorway are well preserved.
First
excavated in the 19th century by the Duke of Sutherland, this site looked
like a cairn, but as the loose lichen-covered stones were cleared, the broch
emerged. Many artifacts, including pottery, flint chips, stone
hammers, mortars and pestles, querns, whorls, shale rings, long-handled
bone combs, a whale bone club, a silver fibula, steatite cups and an iron
blade, were recovered. This suggests that the site was inhabited over many
centuries.
Further excavations took place in 1986 and a Bronze Age cist
burial with a food vessel was discovered. The remains of buildings outside
the broch indicate a later use when a fortified dwelling was no longer necessary.
This
broch lies on a mound overlooking the Sutherland coast
(59Kb)
