Kisimul Castle, home of the Clan MacRae in Castlebay, Isle of Barra, Hebrides, Western Isles, Scotland. SCO 6587
The earliest documentary record of Kisimul Castle dates from the mid 16th century. As Kisimul is completely surrounded by the sea, it can only be reached by boat making the fortification impregnable but it has its own fresh water wells. Kisimul was abandoned in 1838 when the island was sold, and the castle's condition deteriorated. Some of its stone was used as ballast for fishing vessels, and some even ended up as paving in Glasgow. The remains of the castle, along with most of the island of Barra, were purchased by the chief of Clan MacNeill in 1937, who made efforts at restoration. In 2001 the castle was leased by the chief of Clan MacNeil to Historic Scotland for 1000 years for the annual sum of £1 and a bottle of whisky. Archaeological investigations were carried out at Kisimul Castle by Headland Archaeology, on behalf of Historic Scotland. This involved some excavation, building recording and archival research. It was hoped that the project would help clarify the date of the castle and its sequence of construction. Another aim was to establish whether or not the island had been occupied before construction of the castle. Gold object recovered during the concentrated on areas of the courtyard, the basement of the tower and the bottom of a pit prison. At the east end of the courtyard there was a great deal of building rubble directly below the surface, some of which had mortar attached. This suggested that an earlier building had been demolished or collapsed, and the stone used to form a level courtyard. This happened before the building known as the kitchen was built. At the other end of the site a stone drain leading under the great hall was uncovered together with a paved stone surface. Above these was a layer containing large amounts of animal bone, shell and pottery. There were also floor surfaces within buildings that had been demolished.
Size: 4218px × 2791px
Location: Castlebay, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, Western Isles, Scotland
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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