Cell 2: A Mystery Solved!
Today Jack and Dawn have been investigating some fragments of fired clay recovered from within Cell 2 of the broch. During excavation the presence of organic material was noted but it was unclear what this material was and how it had formed, and the function of the cell was unclear. As you can see from […]
Event in March: Putting the Story Back into History
A celebration of writing and storytelling about history in Assynt will be held on Saturday 23 March 2019. This day will be a sequence of free events, open to all, to give local people a chance to hear writers who look back into our past and bring it to life in words. The morning is […]
Two public events coming up!
Historic Assynt’s 20th Anniversary Wednesday 14 November 7.30pm at Stoer Hall Broch Project update and more John Barber and Graeme Cavers of AOC Archaeology will review the whole of the Broch project to date, update us on the latest findings and also update us on the researches John has undertaken since the excavation of Loch […]
Our bronze community sculpture
The broch’s artist in residence, Julia Cowie, ran a fascinating session at Stoer Green last weekend, as part of the Highland Archaeology Festival, showing us her metal working process. She demonstrated how she smelts copper, by wrapping ore in ‘smelt balls’ made of clay, sand and horse dung fibre, and roasting it in a charcoal […]
Is it baffling? Or just baffling?
It’s well worth making your way to Clachtoll broch this week, as the archaeologists are back, exploring the entrance path at the front of the monument. There is some lovely paving just outside the entrance, and then the path seems to start bending and becoming more roughly built. You might expect the route towards such […]
Time traveling for our tea
A throng of people of all ages from the local community, visitors, volunteers and archaeologists set off back in time for our dinners yesterday, with an iron age food tasting day at Stoer Green. The fire was lit at about 10am to heat stones while a pit was dug for roasting meat. We put up […]
What did the broch people have for their tea?
Come along on Friday to find out! Friday 13 July 2018, Stoer Green From 2pm, food preparation: grinding grain in a quern, setting up a roasting pit, making bannocks, gathering and preparing herbs etc From 6pm, cooking and tasting. ALL WELCOME – BRING A BOWL AND SPOON! For more details contact f.j.valentine@btopenworld.com iron age food […]
The Broch is Booming
As part of this fortnight of excavation and summer fun at Clachtoll Broch, the wonderful Henry Fosbrooke has been running drumming workshops, with drums made of native wood and deer hides. It’s not unreasonable to believe that the broch’s inhabitants two thousand and more years ago, might have played instruments like this. And hopefully they […]
We’re all potty about the Iron Age at Clachtoll
Look at this beautiful array of pots that emerged once the pit kiln could be opened, twenty-four hours after the blaze on Monday! We were amazed that so few cracked or broke in the fire and there are some lovely blue shades on some of the clay. Lots of delighted people who made pots in […]
The dig is off to a blazing start
One of Assynt’s modern day assets is a wealth of talented potters, not least because of Highland Stoneware, based in Lochinver. Two people who work some of the time for them, and also run their own ceramics businesses, are Fergus Stewart and Marc Campbell. Fergus is an internationally-renowned potter and kiln builder, with decades of […]