Kilmuir & District Community Council - Kilmuir Souterrain Project

Focus

In May 2000, after a period of heavy rain, a hole suddenly opened in Phil James' field in Kilvaxter, north Skye, exposing stonework underneath. The curator of the local Kilmuir Museum, Jonathan Macdonald, was immediately convinced Phil had discovered a souterrain. Restoring the Iron Age souterrain and making it accessible to the public has been the project of Kilmuir Community Council.

Successes

Previously the Community Council had worked to improve another local history site, the burial place of Flora Macdonald at Kilmuir graveyard, where conditions were not ideal for the annual influx of 40,000 or so visitors. Besides the practical skills of creating paths, drainage and seating, providing interpretation panels and decorative planting, the group learnt much about project management, funding applications and organising volunteers, which enabled them to tackle the new project.

The site was inspected by then local archaeologist Roger Miket, who has worked closely with the Community Council, using his expertise and contacts with the National Museum for Scotland. Once the souterrain had been carbon dated, the group obtained offers of funding from Highland Council and SALE to help them to excavate the site. The hard work was carried out in poor weather by teams of labourers over three weeks. Local volunteers and skilled experts worked alongside each other: everyone found something they could do, including the youngsters. A sign placed at the roadside invited passers-by to get involved and many tourists also lent a hand. Wet clay was removed layer by layer to reveal the 2,000 year-old underground passageway. Archaeologists from Glasgow University made detailed drawings and took soil samples. Orbost artist, Marion Roberts, made drawings of the finds, which included pieces of pottery and a few coins.

After laying bare the site, the group was offered various options, and decided the second stage of the project should concentrate on stabilisation and renovation work, with the intention of restoring the souterrain and making it completely safe for public access. For this, funding and support was received from Historic Scotland and LEADER+. The group was advised by Joffy Hill, a stonemason and building expert who has worked on projects with Time Team. Neil Bruce, a local contractor, brought heavy earth moving machinery from Glenmore. Walls were rebuilt using a mixture of original stone and imported materials. Council Health and Safety officers advised on how to make the site accessible. The souterrain is now fully restored, dry below ground and the grass has grown back over the works.

The final phase of the project has been to provide a car park, kissing gate and pathway, interpretation panels and signage. The souterrain is now open to the public.

Tips and Advice

Never underestimate the time a project is going to take you, and try to find at least someone else to share the load of managing the project.

Expect the funding process to be slow going; we had to apply to different sources for funding stage by stage, and received the grants on completion of the work.

We were fortunate that local experts volunteered their skills and used their contacts on our behalf: this worked in our favour with the funding bodies.

The logistics of booking contractors and their equipment, and organising teams of people, mean that you have to be prepared to go ahead as planned despite bad weather conditions.

You don't need to be experts; everyone in the community can do something; visitors are keen to be involved. We also received help from Community Service volunteers.

The Council's Health & Safety officer will inspect the site and advise you on maintaining a safe site and the use of authorised signage to warn volunteers of the dangers.