organisation:

ARCH Highland

25 March 2013, Starts: 19:30

"just some old huts in the hills!" - Shielings in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland

Talk by Eve Boyle, of the RCAHMS

Dingwall Community Centre

Until the early nineteenth century, shielings - upland summer pastures - were an indispensible part of the farming cycle right across the Highlands and Islands. Livestock were taken inland and uphill to make the most of remote pastures, and to protect growing crops lower down. We sometimes have an image of the shieling as symbolic of the freedom of the hills, a place for romance and poetry, but in reality this was a tightly-managed system of land use, where rights were defended robustly. This talk will look at the history of shielings, at the archaeology of shieling settlements across Scotland, and examine how and why the system finally came to an end.

There will also be an opportunity to explore some shielings and other sites on the Tuesday and Wednesday with Eve. Contact the ARCH office if you would like to be kept informed.