storage – Scottish Adventures

Built about 2,000 years ago, and despite its name, it was not a dwelling, but a 15m stone-lined, underground passage. This Iron Age larder is one of the most complete examples of its kind.

Culsh earth house survives as it was over 2,000 years ago and is one of only a few souterrains in Scotland that can safely be accessed. We don’t know what it was used for – perhaps a storage space, potentially a hiding place, or as two cup-marked stones inside may indicate it may have had some ritual significance. From the outside this souterrain appears to be just a bump in the ground therefore it would not have attracted any attention, It could, however, be entered both from within the round-house built above it and from the concealed outside entrance.

Check out other examples of Scottish souterrains such as those at – Tealing, Ardestie and Carlungie.

At about 40m long, Carlungie Earth House is one of the largest and most complex examples of its kind in Scotland. It was accidentally discovered during ploughing in 1949 and subsequent excavations during the following two years revealed a further eight associated stone dwellings at ground level.

Earth houses, or souterrains as they are also known, were once thought to have been defensive refuges but it’s now considered that they were in fact cellars, as their cool environment would have made them suitable for storing grain, dairy products and meat. These stone-lined underground passages typically date to the Iron Age and have been found along much of eastern Scotland, as well as in Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany. Just a few miles away can be found Ardestie and Tealing ‘earth houses’ and farther north Culsh Earth House just outside Tarland, Aberdeenshire.

Tag: storage

Culsh Earth House, Tarland – Aberdeenshire

Carlungie Earth House – Angus