Life and Death in Assynt's Past

Everyone in Assynt knows where the broch is at Clachtoll.  It’s right on the shore, between Clachtoll and Stoer beaches. It’s been there for 2000 years and it’s kind of obvious. I’ve never had to stop and think ‘How do we get to the broch?’ It’s a stroll from the beach car park, across the machair grassland, around the edge of the lochen, and along the shore. Or, from the other end, it’s a stroll from the sheep fank, across the machair grassland, a skip along the beach and a hop across the rocks.

But when a team of archaeologists is due to arrive to work there, suddenly ‘How do we get to the broch?’ isn’t so straightforward to answer. They have some kit, which they want to transport to the site. Fine. Tools, and a generator. I picture a couple of big rucksacks and bags. Actually, closer to a trailer-load of tools. Gulp. Wheelbarrow, I think, you can do anything with a wheelbarrow.

And can they get access to some sand? Sure, Clachtoll is made of sand! How much? 100 bags full. What kind of bags? Bucket-sized bags. Pause. Think. A hundred bags full of sand. That’s at least a tonne of sand bags. We can hardly dig a tonne of sand out of the beach. Someone might notice.

I walk the ground and discover that the slopes and gulleys are all steeper and deeper than I ever imagined. I begin to realise that getting a team of archaeologists to the broch isn’t quite the same thing as taking a stroll from the beach car park. It’s going to be a Major Logistical Exercise. Is vehicle access possible? Does someone have a tractor? Or a quad bike and trailer? Is there a crofter who won’t mind us crossing their croft? How are we going to get a vehicle through the fences? Over the ditches?

And where on earth, or rather where in Clachtoll, are we going to get 100 bags of sand?