Scheduled Monument

Shiaba,deserted township,MullSM5634

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
05/03/1993
Type
Secular: settlement, including deserted and depopulated and townships
Local Authority
Argyll And Bute
Parish
Kilfinichen And Kilvickeon
NGR
NM 43976 19186
Coordinates
143976, 719186

Description

The monument comprises the major part of the remains of the pre- crofting and crofting settlement of Shiaba. The deserted township is situated on the S coast of the Ross of Mull on a terrace overlooking a number of landing places. The earliest record of the settlement is in 1779; in 1804 it was turned into crofts and it was cleared in 1847. Excellent documentation survives for the later history of the site; the settlement's history is likely to precede 1779.

The settlement comprises the well-preserved remains of a pre-crofting settlement: typical drystone houses with rounded corners; barns, associated yards, lazy beds and rig and furrow; two corn-drying kilns, one with barn (NM 44011933), the other built into a slope (NM43831851); and one, if not two, horizontal water mills. The best preserved mill (NM43741918) exhibits particularly good field characteristics and is situated in a bend on the E bank of the Allt Cnoc na Feannaige; the W bank of the stream has been reveted.

The second probable mill (NM43791878) is in a suitable position but cannot be positively identified. A small rectangular building (aligned E-W), set within a sub-rectangular enclosure, situated immediately to the N of Port na h-Eaglaise may be a small chapel. A building to the NW of the main settlement may have been the school.

The crofting settlement with its linear arrangement of stone dykes is superimposed over the pre-crofting remains. Several houses (with angular corners) survive and one is still partly roofed.

The robbed out remains of the earlier settlement are visible to the E of the upstanding remains. The area to be scheduled falls into a main area (which measures 1080m from NW to SE by 580m transversely) and a number of smaller areas, to include the main core of the settlement, additional major features and an area around in which associated remains may survive, as marked in red on the attached map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is a very well preserved and well documented settlement which exhibits the evolution from a pre-crofting to crofting economy and contains the full range of typical field characteristics, including an especially well preserved corn kiln with barn and horizontal watermill. The monument therefore has the potential to provide information about eighteenth and nineteenth century, if not considerably earlier, rural economy and society.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NM41NW 7.

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 15:33