Shedding Light on Skye's Iron Age PastUamh an Ard Achaidh, or the cave of the high pasture, is in a shallow glen on the northern slopes of Beinn an Duthaich about seven miles from the village of Broadford in the Isle of Skye. From the cave’s entrance access to around 320 meters of accessible passages is afforded and this makes it one of the most impressive in the north west of Scotland. But the cave is also the focus of an exciting project, funded in part by LEADER+, which will shed light on the early Iron Age in Skye.  |
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| Following on from this discovery, a detailed survey of the area was undertaken and this revealed that the cave and its environs constituted a complex archaeological landscape created over a long time period. The economic and academic potential of developing the Uamh an Ard Achaidh site was recognised by the Broadford Environment Group (BEG), a local organisation with an interest in the economic benefits of environmental improvements in and around the village. Through BEG a project was devised to undertake a geophysical survey, (ground penetrating radar), of the site with a view to identifying key structures above and below ground. It also included a proposal to improve visitor involvement and interpretation of the cave through provision of specialist lighting, CCTV cameras and a covered area where images from within the cave could be viewed on monitors above ground. Additionally provision was also made for a dedicated website though which progress with the project work could be followed. Given the novel approach undertaken in this project and that, among other attributes, it shows active community involvement and will contribute to understanding of environment and culture in a peripheral area, LEADER+ was able to fund half of the initial project’s total cost, with Highland Council funding the remainder. Martin Wildgoose, an archaeologist based at nearby Dunan, who is co-director of this project is clearly excited by what has been found and is in no doubt that the infrastructure which LEADER+ helped provide will be of considerable benefit. “While it is possible that Uamh an Ard Achaidh may have been used as a natural feature in which to deposit domestic rubbish, it is also becoming increasingly obvious that ancient peoples entered this dark and strange world for other reasons. We reckon that the paved floor within the cave and its discrete deposits of shellfish and animal remains may indicate the possibility of a ritualistic use for the site in prehistory. This is fascinating stuff and, as the story unfolds, it can be tracked remotely through our website. Clearly, there are limitations about how many can actually inspect the riches of the cave at first hand but with the CCTV monitoring area available on site visitors have the next best thing.” Further information about the project can be accessed on www.high-pasture-cave.org  |
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