Ruins of lost Highland village discovered in Isle of Skye forest

The ruins of an abandoned post-medieval village have been uncovered during tree-cutting work on the Isle of Skye.

The remains, which include low stone walls and earthen banks, were found in Glen Brittle forest and are likely date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

They are thought to be what’s left of the houses, byres, barns and corn-drying kilns of a settlement known as Brunell, which was once home to more than 2,000 people.

The township, which appears on ancient maps, was likely deserted as a result of the Highland Clearances – which saw landowners replacing people and homes with giant sheep farms.

Call for public inquiry as plans for high-voltage power line from Isle of Skye to Loch Ness opposed

The remnants of Brunell had been obscured from view by a commercial Sitka spruce plantation planted in 1977 but were rediscovered by foresters when the trees were due to be harvested.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) brought in archaeologists to examine the site before felling began, in order to safeguard the historical ruins.

A total of 28 buildings were recorded in the survey, clustered together with fields and stock enclosures to form a small township, also known as a clachan, set on terraces on the north side of the Allt Dabhoch burn.

Foresters had to work carefully to harvest trees without damaging the ruins of the village of Brunell, uncovered in Glen Brittle on the Isle of Skye.

AOC Archaeology studied historical records which suggested the site fell into ruin after the small farms were incorporated into a single large sheep farm.

Climate change: Should communities have power to veto new wind farms as net zero deadline looms?

They discovered that the township is referred to as Brunell on a map created in the early 19th century, surveyed by John Thomson in 1832.

They also consulted statistical accounts for the Parish of Bracadale on Skye, which contained no specific information about the settlement itself but gave general descriptions of life in the area.

Archaeological surveys revealed the remnants of 28 buildings, including houses, byres, barns and corn-drying kilns, clustered together with fields and stock enclosures to form a small township – thought to have been abandoned as a result of the Highland Clearances

The township was deserted by the time of the first Ordnance Survey map, which depicts only two unroofed buildings and a field in 1881.

In recent times some of the old stone walls had been hidden from view by trees blown down in storms.

Sign up for The Scotsman’s weekly History and Heritage newsletter

But a number of the buildings are now visible in cleared areas, while others are still beneath trees.

The village of Brunell, once home to 2,000 people, shown on an old map of the Isle of Skye.

FLS said small tracks had been laid out so forestry machinery could avoid causing damage to the ruins while the timber was removed.

The operation required skill and careful planning.

A spokesperson for the agency said: “The harvester positions itself to reach over the buildings to carefully fell trees away from their walls into open space, ready for processing into logs, to be neatly stacked ready for removal.”