caithness-1911/05_175

Transcription

INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS, ETC., IN COUNTY OF CAITHNESS. -- [Page] 97

PARISH OF REAY.

the external face. Interiorly it measures some 340' from N. to S.
by 300' at the widest part from E. to W., and contains 1.458 acre
(O.S. measurement). An angle in the wall on the W. side suggests
the position of an entrance, and a large slab protruding across the
wall at the NE. may indicate the situation of another. The principal
entrance, however, appears to have been from the SE. immediately
to the S. of a large circular enclosure, which abuts on the outer
wall towards the S. end of the E. side. This entrance appears to
have been 4' in width. The circular enclosure referred to is entered
from the E. and measures interiorly 27' x 32'. It is surrounded by
a stone wall, now ruined, some 7' 6" in thickness. The interior of
this enclosure has been excavated to a depth of several feet at the
back so as to bring the floor to the level of the entrance on the lower
slope of the hill. Within the interior of the fort at the SW. angle,
some 15' back from the wall, are the remains of another small
enclosure, with a diameter over all of some 25'. It has been entered
from the SE. In the interior the wall is visible for a height of
about 1' 6", and suggests a "bee-hive" structure. There appear to
be two small chambers to the right and left of the end of the
entrance passage about 5' in diameter, but the plan is not clear. At
the S. end of the low ridge on which the fort stands are the indefinite
remains of a small structure, apparently circular.
O.S.M., CAITH., xvi. Visited, 11th August 1910.

HUT CIRCLES.

356. Hut Circle, Brawlbin. - About 3/4 m. NNW. of Dorrery Lodge,
and immediately to the E. of the march fence, is a stone-built circular
construction of indefinite character. Its diameter over all is 45'. The
entrance seems to have been from the S. directly through a wall about
9' in thickness, thereafter by a passage 2' in width passing round to
the E. The central part of the construction, with a diameter of some
13', appears to be built. In it and in the outer wall there have been
small round chambers faced with large slabs. The whole construction
is in a dilapidated state and the details of its plan very obscure.
O.S.M., CAITH., xvii. ("Torr Phadruig"). Visited, 9th August 1910.

357. Hut Circle, Brawlbin. - About 1 m. NNW. of Dorrery Lodge, at
the base of the eastern slope of Ben Freiceadain, is a well-preserved
hut circle (fig. 20). The enclosing wall is largely overgrown with
vegetation, but on the outside towards the S. it is exposed in places to
a height of 2'. The thickness of the main wall of the circle is 6', increas-
ing to 9' on either side of the entrance. It is entered from the ESE.
through a passage in thickness of the wall 9' in length, 5' in width
at the outer end and 2' 3" at the interior. At 4' from the inner end
two upright stones in situ have evidently formed jambs constricting the
width of the passage to 1' 6". Interiorly the circle, which is of pear-
shaped form, measures 27' by 31'. The interior is divided into two by
a wall some 2' 6" in breadth, forming an arc having its concave out-
line facing the entrance at 17' distant from it. There seems to have
been an entrance to the back enclosure near the centre of the cross
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