The Gruinart Flats is a low-lying
landform
A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...
on the western part of the isle of
Islay
Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...
in
Scotland. The locale is an important conservation area, having been designated as an
SSSI
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. Much of the Gruinart Flats is a marshy area operated by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This vicinity is known to be an early habitation site by
Mesolithic
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 synonymous ...
peoples.
[''Hunter-gatherer landscape archaeology: the Southern Hebrides Mesolithic''. 2001. p. 139]
See also
*
Loch Gruinart
Loch Gruinart ( from the Old Norse, meaning "shallow fjord") is a sea loch on the northern coast of isle of Islay in Scotland. Land at the head of the loch, Gruinart Flats, is a designated nature reserve owned by the RSPB. It is an important ...
Footnotes
References
* ''Hunter-gatherer landscape archaeology: the Southern Hebrides Mesolithic''. 2001. ed. Steven Mithen, 684 pages
External links
Landforms of Islay
Landforms of the Inner Hebrides
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Islay and Jura
Landforms of Argyll and Bute
Wetlands of Scotland
Ramsar sites in Scotland
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