I wouldn't say any enthusiasm about the site is misplaced – it is interesting to go and visit in that there is a lot to see compared with many similar sites in the Uists. It also has many implications for the role wheelhouses played in Iron Age society.
The re-building question only really applies to the upper courses of stonework i.e. around the outer wall and some of the piers. You can almost see a line around the walls where the packing material stops and the stones are loose. When I surveyed the site for the m.phil, one main aim was to establish what is in situ and what could have been altered (not by wholesale rebuilding, rather putting stones back from where they have probably fallen). This is illustrated by elevation drawings and descriptions.
Because its likely re-building did take place, albeit with good intentions, some of the integrity of all the remains has been lost. For instance, I am fairly certain there was a building associated with the Pictish period inserted in the wheelhouse, however, either by not recognising it, or deliberately removing it, few traces remain. Very few wheelhouses in the Uists do not have re-use after their primary phases and the pottery from Bagh nam Feadag would certainly suggest it was no exception to this trend. The pottery has also shown that the excavator had only reached the wheelhouse floors in restricted areas and a significant amount of material remains at lower levels.
 Reply | with quote | Posted by erchie
28th October 2004ce
12:26 |
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Re: Bagh nam Feadag structures (greywether)