The Breachacha crannog is a

crannog A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...

located near Loch Breachacha, on the Inner Hebridean island of

Coll Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and ...

. The crannog is recognised in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. A scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given legal protection against unauthorised change. There are about 8,000 such sites in Scotland.

Description

The

is located at ; about south of

Breachacha Castle Breachacha Castle (also spelled Breacachadh) is either of two structures on the shore of Loch Breachacha, on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll, Scotland. The earlier (also called Old Breachacha Castle) is a 15th-century tower house that was a ...

. It sits within the former loch which was known as ''Poll nam Broig''. The loch was drained in 1875 and today the crannog sits in an arable field. The surrounding ground is

marshy A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and can be accessed only from the east. The crannog is oval-shaped and consists of a stone and earth mound with a flattened top. It stands high and measures at the base, and on the top. The crown of the mound stands about above the surrounding former loch-bed; and according to Mark W. Holley, this corresponds with what would have been the maximum water level of the old loch. Holley's calculations deduced that when the loch was full, the crannog would have been located about from shore. Holley surveyed the site in 1995 and noted a series of five, semicircular pits dug into the ground on the east, south, and south-west sides of the crannog. He considered these holes to have been dug relatively recently, since the early 20th century antiquary Erskine Beveridge made no mention of them, nor did he mention any form of excavation on site. There is no trace of a causeway,

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying some ...

, or harbour on the site. There is no trace of any walling at the site; or of any protruding timbers. Holley noted that the stones appear to be of local origin. There are no other man-made features near the site.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loch Breachacha (crannog) Archaeological sites in the Northern Inner Hebrides Coll Crannogs in Scotland Former populated places in Scotland Fortifications in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Scotland