© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Easter Rattich is a depopulated settlement located 575 metres south-south-west of Ruallan in Inverness-shire. The site lies upon bedrock of the Moine Supergroup, a complex metamorphic sequence of gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite formed during the Neoproterozoic era. This ancient, hard geology would have presented significant challenges to settlement and cultivation in this upland locality.
The settlement represents a period when communities inhabited scattered locations across the Scottish Highlands that were subsequently abandoned. Such depopulated settlements are common across the region, their desertion often reflecting changing land use, economic pressures or migration patterns over the medieval and post-medieval centuries. The specific factors leading to Easter Rattich's abandonment remain unrecorded.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11876, recognising its archaeological significance as a record of past settlement patterns and rural life in the Highlands. The site contributes to understanding the historical geography and demographic history of Inverness-shire, where the landscape still bears evidence of former occupation across remote and challenging terrain.
Easter Rattich, depopulated settlement 575m SSW of Ruallan is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11876. View the official record →
Easter Rattich is a depopulated settlement located 575 metres south-south-west of Ruallan in Inverness-shire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11876.
Easter Rattich, depopulated settlement 575m SSW of Ruallan is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM11876.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dun Evan,fort (2.4 km), Rehiran Farm House, cairn 1530m ESE of (2.4 km), St Barevan's Church and Churchyard, Foxmoss Wood (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Easter Rattich, depopulated settlement 575m SSW of Ruallan's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Easter Rattich, depopulated settlement 575m SSW of Ruallan stands on Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite.