The Crowlin Islands () are a group of uninhabited islands in the
Inner Hebrides of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. They lie between
Skye and the
Applecross
Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which ...
peninsula on the mainland.
The individual islands are:
*
Eilean Mòr (big island)
*
Eilean Meadhonach
Eilean Meadhonach is the second largest of the Crowlin Islands, located in the Inner Sound off the island of Skye, Scotland.
It is situated immediately to the west of Eilean Mòr, and to the north is Eilean Beag, both of which it is connecte ...
(middle island)
*Eilean Beag (little island)
Prehistory
Between 1999 and 2004 a large scale archaeological project, Scotland's First Settlers, was undertaken in the
Inner Sound to locate and examine sites relating to the
Mesolithic period
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymously ...
in the strait. The entire coastline of the Inner Sound together with its islands was walked by volunteers and archaeologists. On the Crowlin Islands they found six caves and rock shelters with evidence of prehistoric habitation. The
midden at Crowlin 1 suggested sporadic activity from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
into the 16th century AD. Three other sites produced evidence for post-medieval occupation.
Excavations on Eilean Mòr have shown evidence of human settlement in the Mesolithic. Ruined cottages can be seen in the north-east corner, near Camas na h-Annait.
History
From about 1810 to 1920 Eilean Mòr was home for several families, evicted from
Applecross
Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which ...
, but unwilling to take passage from Scotland to far-off lands. By agreement with the landowning Mackenzie laird they were allowed to settle on the islands and make what living they could by fishing, pasturing sheep, gathering kelp and farming. The ruins of
drystone
Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction m ...
shielings and a chapel are still visible on the islands.
The steam trawler the Scomber was sunk off the coast of Eilean Beag in 1923, though the exact location of the wreck is unknown.
Images
File:An Glais-eilean Meadhonach - geograph.org.uk - 1510551.jpg
File:Eilean Mor Chapel.jpg
File:Eilean Mor and Eilean Bearg - geograph.org.uk - 66942.jpg
See also
*
List of islands of Scotland
This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...
References
External links
Uninhabited islands of Highland (council area)
Archipelagoes of Scotland
{{Highland-geo-stub