Archaeology

Applecross Archaeology

In Tony Robinson’s words “Applecross is awash with archaeology”.  At just about every turn there are obvious signs of heritage, one of Applecross’s greatest assets.
Like elsewhere on the West-Coast of Scotland there has been very little fieldwork and even less excavation done, with the notable exception being the outer Isles.

Applecross has had only four professional archaeological digs. The first one was at Clachan church back in the 1930′s. There is apparently film of this excavation somewhere, but neither the film or any of the relevent reports seem readily available. We would love to hear from anyone who may be able to shed light on their whereabouts.

The Clachan finds were remarkable large stone Pictish cross fragments, originally on show in the lobby of Clachan Church.  Unfortunately a large piece was stolen.  We would love to see it returned to Applecross as it is a big part of the Heritage.  The remaining stones are now housed, safe and secure, in the Applecross Heritage Centre.

The most thorough excavation so far has been Scotland’s first settlers project, at the Sand’s shelter.  This excavation has shown quite clearly that the Atlantic sea-board has been occupied since the retreat of the glacial ice which covered most of Scotland about 12,000 years ago.
Another interesting smaller excavation was lead by the Historical Society to try and find the boundary of Saint Maelrubha’s monastery, said to be in the vicinity of the existing graveyard.  Unfortunately the dig ended without conclusive evidence. However aerial photos seem to give a clear indication of it’s existence.

The most recent excavations have been on the Applecross Broch. This project was initially inspired by Channel 4′s Time Team visit in May & June 2005.
With the help of the lottery fund the community was awarded £10,000 towards an excavation to the last occupation level. There have been three community excavations to date.

Download the Community Excavation report “so far” HERE

The fourth quadrant has been left untouched because of an 11000 volt electricity pole slap bang in the middle. Scottish & Southern Electricity kindly donated the money and time to have the offending pole removed in April 2008.
The next dig to expose this area is being planned for September 2009. The exact date of the September dig should be confirmed around May 2009. So if you would like to help out please contact us for more details.

Applecross Trust & The Community have been awarded 1.3 million through the Heritage Lottery Fund and it is hoped that similar match funding can be raised to invest in a number of heritage projects. Projects which will hopefully benifit from this funding include the restoration of both Clachan Church and the 15th century chapel.
I’ll keep you informed of the progress of these projects over the next 10 months.
Over the coming months I hope to have the archaeological reports available for download on a pdf document, including a photo gallery of the excavations and further finds, so check back regularly.

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