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Archaeological Sites & Finds in
North Lewis
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The Adabrock Hoard
When Donald Murray from Adabrock was cutting his peats in May 1910,
in what is now the Eorodale Park (An t-Slugaid), he found a group of
objects which proved to be of great significance.
The find comprised: three razors, an axehead, a gouge, a hammerhead,
a chisel, a spearhead, two whetstones, gold glass and amber beads
and fragments of bronze sheet. |
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The tools and weapons were
made of bronze and archaeologists tell us that they were made before 750
BC, during the Bronze Age. What Donald Murray discovered was one of the
most important finds from the Bronze Age in Scotland. The items are now
displayed in the National Museums of Scotland, in Edinburgh. |
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The Aird Dell Swords
Murdo Maciver of Aird Dell found two Bronze Age swords while digging his
croft in August 1891 and February 1892. The complete one was 24 inches
in length and the other was a fragment which was 93/4 inches long. They
were probably made between 700 and 800 BC and could have been buried
along with a Bronze Age warrior. They are now held in the National
Museums of Scotland. |
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Dìobadal Silver Hoard
This comprised two silver finger rings and three arm rings which were
found under peat in Dìobadal, South Dell, in 1938. They were buried
during the Viking Period in the 10th or 11th Century AD. As well as
being used as jewellery, arm rings were also cut up or 'hacked' during
this period and used as a form of money. These items are presently on
show in the National Museums of Scotland. |
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Galson Enamel Mount
Frank Rennie found this decorated bronze object (diameter 30mm) at
Galson Beach in 1985. Archaeologists tell us that it could be one of
the decorations from a leather strap of a horse's harness and is
probably around a thousand years old. Similar items have been found
in other parts of the Scandinavian World in graves which contained a
horse and its master and a chariot or cart. The original colours
would have been red and yellow and it has a Celtic triskele pattern
on the front. It is now displayed at Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway. |
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Iron Age Pot or Craggan from Galson
This clay pot was found by John Russell of Galson
Farmhouse on Galson Beach in the late 1980s. The pot, which is
around eight inches tall, was made from local clay and was probably
fired on a household fire. It was found lying beside a skeleton
buried in a single grave. It was made during the Iron Age, between
200 BC and 400 AD. It was simply decorated, as is typical of this
period, with chevrons under the neck. Craggans continued to be made
in Barvas until around 1935. This one is on show in Museum nan
Eilean. |
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Dun Eistean
Recently there has been enormous interest in the small island
fortress of Dun Eistean - the ancestral seat of the Clan
Morrison. Following preliminary survey work carried out in
199-2000, funding has recently been secured for a more comprehensive
survey of the site, with work scheduled to commence in the summer of
2005.For
further details about this fascinating site, please visit the the
Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division
(GUARD) website.
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