Udal

Iain Crawford, a passionate archaeologist and ethnographer who was influenced by the writings of Erskine Beveridge, decided to concentrate his searches in the 1960s on sites that might have been continuously inhabited over a very long period and yet remained visible. He wanted to get a clearer picture of daily life and work from the Mesolithic, through to the Bronze and Iron Ages, onwards as close to the present day as possible. The two main sandhills at Udal, North and South, gradually provided him with settlement remains which represent the rarity and importance of this site. The Udal South Mound revealed evidence of two stone built round houses or 'wheelhouses', now extremely vulnerable to the elements. Pottery shards, stone tools and some bronze and metal items, held by Glasgow University, show evidence of habitation from the Late Bronze Age through to the Late Iron Age. The Udal North Mound takes the period of settlement up to Viking and Mediaeval times and the finds include jewellery and a Norse gold coin of Harald Hardrada. There is evidence of continuous settlement through to the 19th century and much more exciting excavation remains to be researched by the Udal project on this site of major historical significance.