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Garafad is a depopulated settlement located in Kilmuir, Inverness-shire. The site represents a former rural community whose buildings and inhabitants have long since disappeared from the landscape, leaving only archaeological traces of past occupation. Such settlements are a characteristic feature of the Scottish Highlands, testifying to changing patterns of habitation and land use over centuries.
The settlement sits upon bedrock formed during the Palaeogene period, an unnamed mafic igneous intrusion that creates the underlying geological foundation of this part of Inverness-shire. This igneous geology has shaped the character of the local landscape and the resources available to past inhabitants. The terrain would have presented both opportunities and constraints for settlement and agriculture.
Garafad is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3510, reflecting its significance to understanding the rural settlement patterns and social history of the Highlands. The depopulation of such settlements resulted from multiple factors including economic change, estate reorganisation and migration, processes that fundamentally altered the inhabited landscape of northern Scotland. The physical remains at Garafad contribute to our understanding of these transformative historical processes.
Garafad,depopulated settlement,Kilmuir is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3510. View the official record →
Garafad is a depopulated settlement located in Kilmuir, Inverness-shire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3510.
Garafad,depopulated settlement,Kilmuir 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 SM3510.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Garafad,chambered cairn 100m W of Cadha Riach (0.3 km), Garafad School,homestead 740m NE of (0.4 km), Staffin House, shell midden 1050m NNE of (0.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Garafad,depopulated settlement,Kilmuir'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.
Garafad,depopulated settlement,Kilmuir stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.