Loch Fada Crannog

Surveyed April 30, 1995

NGR: NM 2561 6204

This site is located 24m off shore on the E side of Loch Fada near its N end. The site is surrounded by water 1-2 m in depth and can just be reached by wading. No evidence was found of the causeway previously noted by Beveridge, although a small peninsula does approach within 20 m of the S side of the site.

The site is roughly circular in plan, measuring 30m by 32m at its base, but is crowned by an 8.8m by 10m oval shaped platform. This feature is 2.8m above the water level, 5.5m above the bottom of the site and fairly level. The surface of the site is now almost entirely obscured by heavy brush and peat at least 2m in thickness. Due to the nearly vertical sides of the mound and recent storm damage, large areas of peat had fallen away, exposing roughly stacked walling. This feature seemed to run around the perimeter of the base of the upper platform, but only three sectors could be viewed with certainty. The walling consisted of medium sized, unshaped stone, which had been stacked at least four courses high.

The underwater portion of the site is fairly nondescript. Stone tumble, obscured by 1m of silt, gently edges its way out from the site until a depth of 2.3m was reached and the bottom could no longer be probed. No submerged timbers or walling were observed although both could certainly have been obscured by silt.