Hebridean Archaeological Sites

The Outer Hebrides contains hundreds of fascinating archaeological sites throughout the Island chain, and many previously unknown ones are also discovered every year. The famous standing stones of Calanais stand at the centre of a ritual landscape in Lewis, the largest island in the group. To the south is Harris, a beautiful landscape of mountains and machair, with scattered off-shore islands that are now uninhabited, but whose archaeological remains reveal that they were home to populations since prehistoric times.

On the other side of the Sound of Harris lie the chain of North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay with their associated smaller islands, full of Neolithic chambered cairns, prehistoric roundhouses and forts, and later settlements. And on the southern tip, the lovely island of Barra, with the medieval Kismul Castle rising from the bay.

The Interactive Explorer gives you a unique interactive way of exploring the islands' archaeological heritage. For those site visitors who are unable to access this feature of the site, the following list details all of the sites featured.

Items marked with "with audio" have an associated audio interpretation for you to listen to; those with "with video" have an associated video to watch.

• Aird ma-Rhuibhe, Berneray with audio

  David Simon Close to the ferry terminal lie the slight remains of a burial cairn, probably dating to about 700 AD. This is a rare example of a distinctive group of cairns known as Pictish square cairns, more commonly found in Eastern and …
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• Allathasdal, Barra

  This site was investigated by Channel 4's Time Team in May 2007. Amongst other remains, a well-preserved Iron Age wheelhouse was uncovered, and nearby, a group of earlier roundhouses of Bronze Age date. The site has been occupied by …
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• Allt Easdal, Barra with audio

  At Allt Easdal, there are excavated remains of Neolithic huts, an Iron Age wheelhouse, and a late 18th-early 19th century blackhouse and outbuildings, clustered in and around a narrow valley with a small stream - Allt Easdal. Neolithic …
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• Baille nan Cailleach, Benbecula

  By Ray Burnett Early Christian origins Cladh Mhuire, the burial ground for the Benbecula community, is the only site associated with early Christianity in Benbecula ,which still remains in use. Legend attributes the earliest Christian …
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• Barpa Langais, North Uist with audio

  Barpa Langais is the best preserved Neolithic chambered cairn in the Outer Hebrides. It is typical of tombs built all over the islands by Neolithic farming communities, in this case about 25 metres in diameter, and containing a great mass …
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• Bornais, South Uist with audio

  Three artificial settlement mounds dominate the machair plain, 1.5km east of Dùn Mhulan. Between 1994 and 2004, excavations were undertaken at all three mounds. At Mound 1, the southernmost of the group, the excavations uncovered what …
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• Bostadh, Great Bernera with audio

  In 1993 a great winter storm reconfigured the beach at Bostadh, revealing substantial stonework within the sand dunes where gradually eroding middens had long been observed. Eventually this threatened site was excavated, and a series of …
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• Bunavoneader Whaling Station, Harris

  Location: NB 131 040 Situated at the foot of the southern slopes of the North Harris mountains, the remains of a 20th century industrial site nestle between the road and the shore of Loch Bun Abhainn Eadarra. Most immediately visible is …
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• Caisteal a' Mhorair, Lewis

  NB 5368 4970 This is an impregnable 23m high finger of rock rising from the sands at the south end of Traigh Ghearadha, North Tolsta. Its narrow plateau is completely covered by structures about 8m wide. It can be viewed safely from the …
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• Caisteal Buirgh, Benbecula

  In the 14th century, Casteal Buirgh was the most important castle not only in medieval Benbecula, but possibly in the Outer Hebrides. Today the greatly collapsed ruins stand on flat ground in a private croft, but its surroundings have …
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• Calanais II, Lewis

  Calanais II, Cnoc Ceann a' Ghàrraidh Remains of an oval stone ring with 5 standing stones and at least two fallen ones.
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• Calanais III and Calanais IV, Lewis

  Calanais III - Cnoc Fillibher Bheag An outer ring now with 8 standing stones and 5 fallen ones, with an inner group of 4 distinctive stones. Calanais IV - Ceann Thulabhaig An oval ring now with 5 standing stones, and the remains of a …
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• Calanais, Lewis with video

  The standing stones of Calanais are the most famous archaeological monument in the Outer Hebrides. It is a remarkable complex comprising a circle of 13 stones, with a central monolith, and a small chambered tomb which was later wedged …
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• Carabhat Barp, Cairinis, North Uist

  250 metres from the main road (which itself dissects the remains of a stone circle at NF 833602), on top of a small hillock, lie the remains of a once spectacular long cairn with a horned facade at its eastern end. Although the mound of …
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• Cille Bharra, Barra

  The chapel at Cille Bharra was perhaps founded as early as the 7th century AD, being named after St Barr (or Finnbar) who was ordained c AD 600. It was after the Saint that the Norsemen gave the island the name of Barray. The largest …
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• Cille Pheadair, South Uist

  A well-preserved aisled wheelhouse was excavated in 1952 in the machair at Cille Pheadair (NF 733 203). It had an internal diameter of 8.8 metres, and contained 11 radial piers. Finds included abundant pottery, stone, bone and antler …
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• Clach Steineagaidh, Scarasta, Harris

  This standing stone appears now as a single monolith overlooking one of the most beautiful stretches of shore in the Hebrides, looking towards the island of Taransay. But when it was first erected, it was part of a complex that included a …
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• Cladh Hallan, South Uist

  This is a Bronze Age-Iron Age settlement excavated between 1989 and 2002. It began around 2200 BC as a settlement and fields. Around 1250 BC the small U-shaped house form was replaced by a new type of house, the roundhouse. Roundhouses …
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• Cleitreabhal, North Uist

  At this site, situated on the southern slope of the hill, lie the remains of a Neolithic chambered cairn, much of which has been re-modelled as a wheelhouse in the Iron Age. The wedge-shaped long cairn was at least 30 metres long, and has …
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• Dùn Èisdean, Lewis

  Dùn Èistean is traditionally known as the stronghold of the Clan Morrison and archaeological excavation and survey work has found evidence for a defended medieval settlement on the island, with dwellings, storage buildings, a …
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• Dùn Chàrlabhaigh, Lewis with video

  Museum nan Eilean NB 191 412 This is the best preserved and most visited broch in the Outer Hebrides. It occupies a low hilltop with commanding views across the seaways to the south and west. It is entered by a single low heavily-defended …
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• Dùn Mhulan, South Uist

  The broch of Dùn Mhulan was inhabited during the Iron Age. This large tower-like house was built around 150 BC, originally on an island within a freshwater loch, long before the open sea had broken through. The broch was 19m …
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• Dùn Othail

  NB 542 514 This striking pinnacle of rock can only be accessed with great care from the south, via a series of small plateau's and eventually a narrow ledge, which runs into a defended entrance. The terraces beyond this have at least five …
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• Dun an Sticir, North Uist

  Origins The remains of a stronghold occupy the whole of a tiny islet in the middle of the tidal loch of Sticir. It is connected by a stone-built causeway to a slightly larger islet which in turn is connected to the shore by two stone …
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• Dunasbroc

  NB 471 621 This is a small, steep-sided, conical stack situated close to shore near Aird Dell. It is c 20m tall with a flat summit platform measuring only c 6 by 15m. All the features described below can be seen from the adjacent coast. …
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• Dursainean, near Garrabost, Isle of Lewis

  This communal burial tomb would have been an important highly visible monument of the first farming people who lived in the peninsula of An Rubha in the Neolithic period. This cairn occupies a conspicuous position on a low hill …
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• Eaglais na h-Aoidhe, Lewis

  David Simon Eaglais na h-Aoidhe (Church of the Eye, or isthmus) was the principal church of medieval Lewis, probably built in the later 14th century by the new Macleod dynasty as their religious centre on the Island. It was built to a …
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• Eilean Dohmnuill, Loch Olabhat, North Uist

  Eilean Domhnuill (NF 7470 7530) is an artificial islet in the loch that was occupied during the Neolithic period. During at least its later period of occupation it was connected to the shore by a timber-built causeway. The settlement on it …
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• Flora Macdonald's Birthplace, South Uist

  The former settlement of Airigh Mhuillin is known as the birthplace of Flora MacDonald, the woman who famously helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to avoid capture after the Battle of Culloden in 1745. This settlement is now thought not to have …
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• Howmore Ancient Chapels, South Uist

  Tobha Mòr has been an important ecclesiastical centre since early medieval times. Monastic houses based on Irish prototypes spread throughout the west of Scotland from the 6th century onwards. Towards the end of the Norse period …
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• Loch Olabhat, North Uist

  NF 747 753 Eilean Domhnuill is an artificial islet in the loch that was occupied during the Neolithic period. During at least its later period of occupation it was connected to the shore by a timber-built causeway. The settlement on it had …
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• North Rona with audio

  North Rona is an uninhabited, isolated island 44 miles in the open sea north of the Butt of Lewis, and is seldom visited except by occasional private vessels. But its isolation has preserved the archaeological sites of the island in a …
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• Pobull Fhinn, North Uist

  This is the best-known, most accessible stone circle in the Uists. It appears to have been constructed on a large artificial platform overlooking Loch Langais, dug in to the hillslope to the rear and built up to the front. The ring …
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• Stac a' Chaisteal, Lewis

  NB 202 454 Stac a' Chaisteal is is a dramatic, pinnacle shaped stack, surmounted by a plateau complete with what has clearly been a substantial building, joined to the adjacent cliffs by a knife edge of rock. The stack is too dangerous to …
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• Stac Dhomhnuill Chaim, Lewis

  NB 002 315 Stac Dhomhnuill Chaim is situated near the village of Mangersta in Uig. Oral tradition tells that it was once a hideout and fortress for the well-known outlaw and hero, Dhomhnuill Chaim MaCaulay who lived in the late 16th/early …
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• Stone settings on Ben Langais, North Uist

  In the woodands at Langais in North Uist is 'Beistean's Grave'. This is probably a naturally outcropping rock, split into several large slabs, but its most interesting feature is a series of 'cup marks', one at each corner on the upper …
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• Taobh Tuath (Northton), Harris

  This area, from the township of Taobh Tuath to the headland of Rubh' an Teampaill, has numerous sites of archaeological significance. There is an eroding prehistoric settlement mound, which produced evidence from the Mesolithic, …
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• Tur Chliamainn, (St Clement's Church), Harris

  NG 048 832 This is the largest and most splendid medieval church in the Outer Hebrides. It has the finest collection of late medieval carvings in the Outer Hebrides, ranging from architectural details such as the intriguing sheela-na-gigs …
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