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Council funds replica Iron Age roundhouse plans

News imageGairloch Museum A visualisation of how the roundhouse would look at Gairloch Museum. The roundhouse has a conical, turf roof above stone walls. It is in an area of long grass and the sea is behind it.Gairloch Museum
An illustration of how the roundhouse at the Gairloch Museum could look

Plans to create a replica Iron Age roundhouse at an outdoor museum in Wester Ross have been backed by £45,000 of funding from Highland Council.

The council approved plans for the full-scale replica at the Gairloch Museum in January and it has now voted to provide funds towards the project.

Roundhouses, which had circular stone walls and turf roofs, were found at sites across Scotland about 2,800 to 1,600 years ago.

The Gairloch Museum received a grant from the council's regeneration fund, which will go towards the £279,725 needed for the project.

The museum said the design had been based on archaeological evidence gathered from excavations of a roundhouse site at nearby Achtercairn.

The project aims to bring ancient Wester Ross to life and create skills training, employment and volunteering opportunities in the area.

The museum said its roundhouse would not be a static exhibit, but a working space.

It proposed making it available to schools and for community activities.

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh area committee approved the funding as part of Community Regeneration Fund award.

The development phase of the project will span until June 2027 and construction and programming will extend into 2028.