(From Plate XIV. of Vol. III. of _Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland_, First Series.)
[Illustration: PLATE X.
GROUND PLAN AND SECTIONAL VIEW OF SEMI-SUBTERRANEAN _BOTH_ AND
UNDERGROUND GALLERY, MEAL NA H-UAMH, MOL A DEAS, HUISHNISH, ISLAND OF
SOUTH UIST.]
PLATE X.--_"Both" and Underground Gallery at Meall na h-Uamh,
Huishnish, South Uist._
(From Plate XXXIII. of Vol. VII. of _Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland_, First Series.)
"I have next to notice," says Captain Thomas (_op. cit._, p. 164),
"that form of bo'h, Pict's house, or clochan, whichever name may be
adopted by archæologists, to which a hypogeum or subterranean
gallery is attached.... [The present example] is in South Uist,
about half a mile inland from Moll a Deas (South Beach); and the
Moll is about one mile and a half to the south of Husinish
(Husness, _i.e._, Houseness). The site of the bo'h is called Meall
na [h-] Uamh, or Cave Lump [more correctly, the Mound of the Cave,
or 'Weem.'] It consists of a partly excavated oval dwelling chamber
(_a_), 7 feet by 14 feet on the floor; the dome roof has fallen in;
there are two _cuiltean_, or niches in the wall. A low curved
subterranean passage (_b_), about 2½ feet square and 20 feet in
length, leads into an elongated bee-hive chamber (_c_), 13 feet by
5 feet, and 6¾ feet high; from thence an entrance (_d_), 2 feet by
2 feet, admits to a small circular chamber or cell (_e_), 5 feet in
diameter and 5 feet high. The main passage inclines downwards, so
that the floor of the second chamber (_c_) is nearly 3 feet lower
than that of the first (_a_); and that of the inner one (_e_) a
foot below the second (_c_)."
[Illustration: PLATE XI.
GROUND PLAN OF _BOTH_ AND UNDERGROUND GALLERY, OR _TIGH LAIR_, NEAR MOL
A DEAS, HUISHNISH, ISLAND OF SOUTH UIST.]
[Illustration: PLATE XII.
RESTORED ELEVATION OF ANCIENT BOTH AND SECTION OF HYPOGEUM OR TIGH LAIR,
ON THE LINE a, k, NEAR MOL A DEAS, HUISHNISH, SOUTH UIST.
"These piers were about 4 feet high, 4 feet to 6 feet long, and 1½ foot
to 2 feet broad; and there was a passage of from 1 foot to 2 feet in
width between the wall and them."
"On a small, flattish terrace, where the hill sloped steeply, an area
had been cleared by digging away the bank, so that the wall of the
house, for nearly half its circumference, was the side of the hill,
faced with stone.... The hypogeum or subterranean gallery is on a level
with the floor, pierced towards the hill, and is entered by a very small
doorway [marked _d_ on Ground Plan, Plate XI.].... It is but 18 inches
high and 2 feet broad, so that a very stout or large man could not get
in." (_Op. cit._, pp. 166, 167.)]
PLATES XI. AND XII.--_"Both" and Underground Gallery at
Huishnish, South Uist._
(From Plates XXXIV. and XXXV. of Vol. VII. of _Proceedings of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, First Series.)
"An ancient dwelling, semi-subterranean, exists at Nisibost, Harris
[and is described in vol. iii. of the _Proceedings_, p. 140].... A
still finer example exists near to Meall na h-Uamh, in South
Uist.... The bo'h, or Pict's house, as it would be called in the
Orkneys--but the name is unknown in the Long Island--that I am
about to describe lies less than half a mile above the shepherd's
house; but so little curiosity had that individual that he was
entirely unacquainted with it; and I believe it would never have
been found by us but for a little terrier (in its etymological
sense, of course) of a daughter. The child was only acquainted with
the two here drawn [of which the other--viz., _Uamh Sgalabhad_, is
here reproduced as Plate I., frontispiece]; but there may be many
more waiting the researches of the zealous antiquary." (Captain
Thomas, _op. cit._, p. 165.)
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
GROUND PLAN AND ENTRANCE OF UNDERGROUND GALLERY AT PAIBLE, TARANSAY,
HARRIS.
"The drawing is from a photograph of the entrance, which is 2 feet 10
inches high and 1½ foot broad. The sea flows up to it at high tides."]