This site, identified by RCAHMS (1980, no. 246(2)) is located 82.0 m S of the large peninsula in the W end of Loch Bhasapol. At the time of survey the site was totaly submerged. The section of lochbed surrounding the site is composed of firm sand with a slight growth of vegetation and reviled no trace of a suspected causeway. At the time of survey the top of the site was covered by 0.3 m of water and showed no signs of vegitational growth. The site is surrounded by water 1.2 m to 1.5 m in depth but deepens to 2.3 m between the site and shore.

The artificial island is a circular mound of small, well rounded stone which measures 31.6 m by 34.5 m at its base. The mound is capped by a fairly level, circular platform which measures 24.0 m in diameter and stands 1.0 m above the surrounding lochbed. The sides of the mound taper out gradually at an angle of 6 degrees over and average of 5.0 m. No walling, shaped stone or timbers were found.

Another site listed as a probable crannog (RCAHMS card file NM 53 NE 3) is located at the extreme N end of Loch Ba, between Gruline House and the outlet of the River Ba . It consists of a circular mass of rubble, 15 m in diameter and 2 m high. At least 50% of the stone is too large for a man to lift, and ranges greatly in size. No timbers, cut stone or other features were found.

Access to this site wasdenied by the land owner.

The Crannogs of Mull were first brought to public notice in 1870 by Mr. F. Campbell who discovered an artificial island after draining a loch located near the village of Tobermory. In 'The Proceedings of The Society of Antiquaries' (Campbell 1870) Mr. Campbell wrote that, upon draining Loch Na Meal, for farming purposes, he discovered what he described as "one of the artificial islands which are found in almost all the lochs of Mull." Mr. Campbell notes that Loch Na Meal, which means 'loch of deer', was fifty acres in size, about six feet deep and had a bed of mud several feet deep.

In order to aid the draining of the loch, ditches were dug around the premier. It was during this operation that a dugout log canoe was discovered between the island and the shore. The canoe was located four feet under the surface mud and appeared to be made of black oak. It measured seventeen feet in length, three and a half feet in width and was described as being quite fresh and sound. Several other smaller canoes, along with three modern clinker built boats, were also found nearer the surface of the mud but were not studied as they were in a half decayed state. Campbell submerged the principal Canoe near the Tobermory pier in order to preserve it from cracking, but by 1883 it had disappeared.

Campbell also found, what he described as "a stone causeway laid upon oak trees." (Campbell 1870) This feature, which was also four feet below the surface mud, ran directly from the shore to the island. The crannog was described as a quantity of loose stones which sat on the only rock near the surface of the loch. Local Geography - Loch Na Meal is located 2 km Southeast of Tobermory amid the stepped hills which dominate northern Mull. As mentioned above, the section of the loch which contains the crannog site has been drained. Surrounding land areas have been forested by The Forestry Commission and are highly disturbed.

The artificial island can now be found standing on a bedrock outcrop 1.3 m above a section of boggy ground 200 m north east of the present shoreline of Loch Na Meal. The structure takes the form of an oval shaped spread of stone, measuring 14 x 19 m at its base. A roughly level, oval, grass- covered platform is located at the centre of the structure. This platform measures 6 x 12 m, and stands 1.0 m above the bottom of the crannog. The area of platform is 49 square meters. No features were noted on this platform, however, the presence of the grass covering may indicate organic material still remains below it. When the Royal Commission surveyed the site in May of 1974 (RCAHMS 1980), they found that the platform measured 6 x 6.8 m and was delimited by intermittent paving stones. These stones were carefully examined but did not appear to be a concentric feature or paving.

A strange circular spur of loose stone, 4.5 m in diameter, projects from the west side of the crannog, facing what would have been open water. This platform is located 0.83 m below the level of the upper platform indicating that water levels would have to be at least 1 m below the top of the crannog for this area to be dry. It seems likely that the platform was part of the living area as it appears to be deliberately built and takes a shape which natural stone tumbling would not. If this platform had been above the water line, it would add 16 square meters of useable area to the crannog. It is possible that the platform might have been a working or storage area, though there is no proof of this as yet.

Another stone covered platform, similar to the first and roughly the same size, can be found projecting from the south east quadrant of the crannog. This platform is roughly level with the first and has a surface area of 15 square meters. Behind this platform are two short sections of dry stone walling which still remain standing. The walling is comprised of stone identical to that found in other areas of the crannog. The east section is five courses high, 0.5 m, and seems to run in a straight line for 1.792 m. The areas at the ends of the wall are masses of stone tumble which may have been continuations of the walling.

The west section of the walling stands three courses high, 0.4m and is 1.635 m long. It takes the shape of an arc which has its base directly under the upper platform. This section may have been part of a circular stone structure, the base of which stone tumble obscures. Such radial circular structures have been found on artificial islands located on Lewis in the Outer Hebridies (Armit 1990). Minimal stone shifting showed that the two sections of walling do connect and continue down for at least 0.5 m. Proper excavation would be needed to determine if the wall was part of a dwelling or exactly what its function was.

This artificial island is located 45m off the W side of Loch Staoisha near the mid-point of the loch. The artificial islet is a nearly circular, stone-covered mound with a diameter of 24m at it’s base. The sides of the islet are a mass of stone rubble which breaks sharply, at an 18° angle, with the surrounding lochbed. The upper platform which crowns the top of islet is roughly circular in shape and has a diameter of 14.3m. At the time of survey, the upper platform stood 2.6m above the surrounding lochbed, 1.1m above the water-level, and was heavily overgrown with bushy vegetation and several large willow trees. The foundations of a pentagonal shaped structure, measuring 5.8m NW-SE by 4m NE-SW, were found near the centre of the islet. The foundations measured a maximum of 0.3m in height and consisted of a single course of medium sized stone.

Eilean Mhuirell is located 51m from the SE shore of Loch Finlaggan. At the time of survey, the depth of the water immediately surrounding the site was between 1.5m and 2m, with water 3+ m in depth immediately to the N and E of the islet. Eilean Mhuirell is an oval shaped mound of stone which measures 30m NW-SE by 51m NE-SW at its base, with its long axis running parallel with the S shore of Loch Finlaggan. The surface of the islet is covered with a mixture of 80% medium-sized stone and 20% large boulders. The upper platform which stands 2.5m above the surrounding loch bed is also oval in shape measuring 17.5m NE-SW by 12.5m NW-SE. The turf-covered remains of a substantial perimeter wall could be traced around the margin of the upper platform. It was not possible to make an accurate measurement of the width of the wall due to the density of the undergrowth. At the time of survey, the surface of the islet was covered with a dense growth of briars and thorns and a small tree had taken root on the S side of the site. No traces of a causeway was found connecting the site to shore.
The remains of one of the sub-rectangular buildings (building a) previously noted by the RCAHMS were still visible through the undergrowth, however the other structure (building b)was completely obscured by briars and turf. The remains of what the RCAHMS described as a boat-noost were observed in the NW sector of the site. This feature was a slight depression in the islet’s surface which was most pronounced at the water-line but which continued down to the bottom of the islet’s stone covering. The depression was 2.7m in average width but only 0.4m in average depth.

This artificial island is located 28m from the S shore of Loch Langeadail. At the time of survey, the water reached a maximum depth of 1.5m between the site and shore. The artificial islet is a circular, stone covered mound which measures 26.5m in diameter at its base. The site is composed of 80% medium sized stone and 20% large boulders, and appears to be entirely artificial. The upper surface of the islet is also circular in shape, measuring 18.5m in diameter, and was heavily overgrown with willow and briars at the time of survey. The outside edge of the upper platform was found to be 0.2m below the water-level, with the remainder of the upper platform protruding into the air by only 0.25m.

This suspected artificial island is located 136m N of a small spur of land, which juts out into the E end of Loch Gorm. The site is accessed from the E by a causeway of large boulders and medium sized stone which have been placed in a double row to form a platform, measuring 3.4m in average width. The causeway measures 97m in length but terminated 30m short of the E shore of Loch Gorm and 61m short of the artificial island, at the time of survey. A large sand-bar has formed between the E side of the site and the E shore of Loch Gorm.
Although the suspected artificial island is located 181m from the E shore of Loch Gorm, it can be easily waded to without the water ever reaching above the knees. The suspected artificial island is an oval shaped islet which measures 107m N-S by 77m E-W at its base. The outer margin of the islet is ringed by a 20m wide spread of large and medium sized stone which sharply contrasts the surrounding sandy loch bed. The sides of the islet are composed of a scatter of small stone, which rises up gradually at a 4° angle from the loch bed to form an oval shaped platform, measuring 63m N-S by 38m E-W. The surface of the islet was heavily vegetated and covered with dense clumps of willow, briars and turfs of long grass at the time of survey.

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Dun Fhir Mhoir is located near the centre of Loch Fhir Mhoir, 106m from the E shore and 77m from the W. The site is accessed by a 3m wide causeway of large boulders which links it to an old shoreline 49m to the W. The causeway is composed of unevenly spaced boulders and has the defensive feature of a slight curve near it’s centre. The site may only be easily approached by means of the causeway as the water surrounding it is 3+m in depth.
The portion of the site which still remains visible from the shore, consists of a roughly circular ring of dry-stacked stone walling which rises 0.7m above the water surface. This walling has an average thickness of 2m and external diameters measuring 11.4m N-S by 13.4m E-W transversely. The interior of the site was flooded at the time of survey but lay near the waters surface and was heavily overgrown with grass and reeds. The walling which encloses the islet is well preserved and descends vertically below the water’s surface for 0.6m, giving it an average height of 1.3m. The walling still retains its vertical face except for short 1-1.5m lengths in NW and SE quadrants which have tumbled outwards into the water. Probing through the vegetation has revealed that the walling has an inner face, small 1m sections of which are visible at several points.
The base of the walling rests in the centre of a circular shaped mound of stone, measuring 17.8m N-S by 22m E-W transversely, the surface of which was roughly 1m below the water-level, at the time of survey. This mound of medium sized well-rounded stone rises above the surrounding lochbed by 0.8m and provides a walk-way around the central structure roughly 2m in width.

Outside edge of walling

 

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Inside edge of walling

 

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This artificial island is located 30m SW of the present shoreline of Loch nan Deala and 26m NE of the loch’s former shoreline. The site was accessed from the SW shore by a 3m wide causeway of large boulders who’s tops were, on average, 0.5m below the upper platform of the artificial island. The water surrounding the site would have been roughly 1m in depth, with deeper 1.5-2m water located behind the site to the NE.
The 0.8m long and 40cm wide timber previously noted by the RCAHMS was re-discovered protruding from the top of the causeway, 3m from the edge of the islet. The timber was firmly embed in the stone rubble and appeared to be part of the islet’s structure. The timber was sampled and discovered to be (Oak) and submitted for radio carbon dating.
The artificial island is a roughly circular shaped mound of stone, measuring 24.5m in diameter at its base, which has been largely covered by turf and peat. The visible stone appears to be well rounded and of this 80% is too large to be manuvered by a single man. The summit of the site is crowned by a fairly level, oval shaped platform, measuring 20m N-S by 16.5m E-W, which stands 1m above the surrounding lochbed. The S edge of this platform is enclosed by a 10.2m long wall of large stones, 0.5m thick and 0.5m high. This walling degrades to tumble at either end and may be the remains of a perimeter wall. The E half of the upper platform is occupied by the foundation remains of three round-angled buildings previously described by the RCAHMS.

This artificial island is located 28m W of a spur which juts out from the E side of Loch Corr. The site is accessed by a substantial stone causeway of large boulders, 25m in length and 4.5m wide, which is 0.2m below the water-line.The islet is a nearly circular, stone-covered mound which measures 32m x 34m at it’s base. Below the water line, the islet is composed of well-rounded medium sized stones. The upper surface of the islet sharply contrasts this, and is composed of large angular blocks of stone. The upper platform of the site, located 2.1m above the surrounding lochbed, is also roughly circular in shape, measuring 23.5m 19m, and was covered with a dense growth of briars at the time of survey. A perimeter wall, up to 2m in thickness, encircles the upper platform just above the water-line. Although heavily overgrown, this walling still survives to a height of 2m in the SE and NE quadrants of the site.The interior of the site was accessed by a boat-noost located in the NE sector of the islet and facing deeper open water. The boat-noost is a triangular shaped depression in the islet’s surface, which measures 5m across at its entrance and extends 8m into the site from the water-line. This depression continues below the water-line to the bottom edge of the site. The interior of the site is occupied by the foundations of two subrectangular buildings which measure 3.8m by 4.7m and 6.4 by 9.7m externally. Most of the foundations still stood to 1m in height and appeared to be 0.7m and 1.1m in thickness, for the smaller and larger buildings respectively. The smaller of the two buildings is free-standing near the centre of the islet and oriented with it’s long axis NE-SW. The larger of the buildings incorporates the perimeter wall into one side and is oriented with it’s long axis NW-SE.

Walling at south end of Loch Corr Crannog