Hut site in Dernish Island

In rough, pasture, located on a terrace on a SW-facing slope, on the SW side of Dernish Island. Ground falls away at W−SW for c. 15-20m to the shoreline. Roughly oval, sunken area (c. 6m E−W; c. 4.5m N−S) enclosed by a sod-covered bank. The interior is sunken to a depth of c. 0.4m below exterior ground level. Stones protrude from the bank in parts. The N arc of the bank (W 1-1.4m, int. H 0.6m; ext. H 0.2m at N) is quite well-defined, but at SE the bank appears more irregular, and varies in width (Wth 1.5-2.5m), with a broadly slumped, possibly disturbed, internal face. At SW the bank takes the form of an inward-facing scarp, which does not have a clearly defined external edge, but appears to merge with the natural slope. There are breaks (Wth 0.4-0.5m) in the bank at W, E and SSE; those at W and E may be the result of erosion by farm stock. The break at SSE may be an entrance feature; the E terminal of this gap has a linear extension (L 2m) to S, mirrored on the W side by a rise from which a large stone protrudes. The remains as a whole are low-profile and rather irregular, and are covered by ferns and brambles. This may be some form of hut, date and exact function uncertain. Imges: SL002-056----_01.JPG Viewed from W SL002-056----_02.JPG Viewed from NE Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 1 August 2017