Monument record MWE150332 - Arnish Moor

These features comprised of the remains of a turf built structure identified during the watching brief and a sub-rounded stone built structure, identifed through excavation.
The archaeological excavation was required as a watching brief had identified a possible archaeological feature. This structure was located on a small, flat headland which on the northeast and southeast edge was bounded by cliff edges, down to the sea and on the northwest and southwest by very steep sloping hillsides.
The turf built feature (Area 1), was possibly a temporary shelter created for fishing, a possible metal and wooden fishing weight were recoved from it. Adjacent to this, Area 2 contained a sub-rounded stone built structure; identified features comprised of two internal postholes and an external fire pit. The stratagraphic sequence suggested that this structure may have burnt down. Finds recovered included a piece of hand woven fabric, lithics and also some later intrusive finds from the moderm era. The function and date of the stone built structure could not be determined. Post- ex analysis may refine the use and chronology of this site.
Leonie Teufel - AOC - August 2022

Multiple phases of activity were uncovered on the site. The earliest was a Mesolithic pit, which contained charcoal as well as magnetised stone which suggest that the pit
might have had hearth waste deposited within it. The second phase of activity was represented by lithics which were characteristically Neolithic, found throughout the
site. The majority of the lithics were from the occupation layer of a later structure which suggests that the Neolithic activity here may have been short lived and that
material had been reworked into the later deposit. The most substantial phases of activity on site related to a stone roundhouse. The wall of this structure had not
survived well, and part of the structure may have subsided, been deliberately demolished and/or partially eroded by the sea. The presence of a coherent charcoal
rich layer across the area; beneath stone tumble associated with the collapse of the building, abutting the stone wall and outside of the boundaries of the structure
suggest that it may have burnt down. Material from the charcoal-rich layer returned a date from the Middle Iron Age period. A fire pit was recorded below the charcoal
rich horizon reflecting use of the area prior to the destruction of the building. The floordeposits were relatively sterile, with only limited ecofacts (shell/bone) and artefacts (lithics) recovered, which is unusual for the Western Isles but could suggest that the site was deliberately cleared before it was burnt or that it was only used seasonally or for a short period.
The additional recovery of relatively modern material indicates that the final phase of activity is recent in date and consisted of the construction of a turf built shelter that
utilised a natural hollow and contained a hearth with peat ash and heather charcoal. It contained two small finds. A metal object was found within the peat ash and was
determined to be a leg or foot of a cast-iron vessel, used between the 17th -19th centuries. The second find was a decorated elm wooden object which was
radiocarbon dated to the modern period and could be a net float. This structure has been interpreted as a possible temporary shelter associated with fishing. Additionally
a fragment of modern fabric with buttons and a modern wooden stake found within the peat reflect modern activity on the site.
The archaeological remains show that the site has had an interesting history with multiple phases of likely short to medium term occupation stretching from the
Mesolithic through to the recent past. It’s investigation has without doubt added to the corpus of information that is being formed about human activity in this area of
Lewis.
Leonie Teufel - AOC - 24th April 2024

AOC Archaeology Group, 2022, Stornoway Deep Water Port Link Road Excavation. (Unpublished document). SWE41310.

AOC Archaeology Group, 2024, Stornoway Deep Water Port Link Road Excavation. (Unpublished document). SWE41366.