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Souterrain
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Although some references say that this site is hard to find/access, we had no problems. It is easily reachable from the parking place for the 'coral beaches'. Most visitors to Skye will go to these, and the site is worth the 1 mile or so detour.
The entrance is a bit intimidating, but once through, the tunnel opens out, and is crouching height (I'm 6' tall). Lined with stones, and extending some 10m, narrowing to the end, the structure is an engineering achievement.
This is the first souterrain I've visited, and I felt that the explanation of them as refuges from raiders seemed unliklely. You couldn't have a group of people sheltering here for more than an hour or two before it became uncomfortable to say the least.
In 'Places Of Power' Paul Devereux suggests that the Cornish Fogous may have had ritual functions, and one could certainly imagine, as one exits this site through the constricted opening, that it was used for ritual involving a second birth from the earth. More prosaically, having visited on a scorching June day, I wondered whether it was in fact some sort of early icehouse.
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Posted by Forgetful Cat
17th June 2006ce
Edited 23rd June 2006ce
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