• project ref : 003

  • location : River Sand, Big Sand, Gairloch

  • grid ref : centred on NG 780 805

  • category : multi-period complex site

  • features : roundhouses, field systems, fanks, walls & dykes

Topographic map showing contour lines, streams, lakes, hut circles, and mountains, including Glac Bhan a Bhòcaidh and Meall Mòr.

This extends from the old school at Big Sand, for 3km east to the slopes of Meall Mòr. This is a vast multi-period landscape with many structures continually reused and redesigned by successive communities for their own use.

Complex : a group or system of different things that are linked in a close or complicated way; a network consisting of many different & connecting parts.

River Sand Complex

A detailed topographic map of a mountainous region with contour lines, rivers, waterfalls, and various marked landmarks with labels, symbols, and delineated areas.

This map shows the Complex (divided into sectors for reference purposes only).

The map below (surveyed 22nd Apr 2023) shows details of sector C (showing features C-01 to C-10).

There has been recent muirburn in this area, exposing more features. The features (in red) have been mapped using drone photography and GPS measurement. Notice that there is some inaccuracy in the OS map data, and notably, the fence is several metres out!

Close-up of a detailed topographic map showing terrain features, contour lines, water bodies, and numbered locations, including Sheepholds, Hut Circles, and boulders.
A climbing boulder course map with various bouldering spots, routes, and labeled sections including 'boulders' and 'P', drawn with red lines on a white background.

When OS detail is removed, the amazing network of field boundaries in this farming landscape becomes more evident.

Most of the circular structures on the map are BA/IA roundhouses which have been rearranged/redesigned for use by later farming communities.

A digital map of a mountainous terrain with numbered sections and labels, including 'Sector I' and 'Meall Mòr', showing various elevations and paths.

Maps and aerial photos of this area can give a false impression of the terrain. Most of the features are located on south-facing, fairly well-drained, sloping hillsides. The 3D image above gives a better indication of the grass & heather-clad landscape.

A satellite image shows a formation shaped like a human skull on a rugged, brownish terrain. The skull shape is outlined with white and black markings. To the right, a schematic diagram illustrates the same skull shape with dashed lines, with a scale bar indicating 25 meters.

feature C-03 (see ref maps above) is a sheep fank, possibly constructed from the stones of a substantial roundhouse. All that remains of the roundhouse is a large, circular earth embankment with a detached section.

Aerial view of an archaeological site with a large circular structure surrounded by trees on one side and a detailed map of the site on the other side, showing pathways, water features, and a central oval shape.

feature C-05 (see ref maps above) is an enclosure with an additional small annex and two structures built within the remains of a stone & turf boundary wall. The boundary wall has been constructed in such a way that a small burn is allowed to flow through part of it. The SW structure is of a fairly crude design, situated on a raised circular platform. It has possibly been constructed within a roundhouse, using the stones from it. The footings of the NE structure are more rectangular, with several compartments. There is evidence of cultivation strips within the enclosure.