Shiaba

Shiaba

Overlooking the sea cliffs of Carsaig, on the south coast of the Ross of Mull, lie the remains of the abandoned township of Shiaba.

This Scheduled Ancient Monument (NM 440192) is one of the few examples remaining of a township with its runrig farm system, ruined mill, drying kilns and houses. The land in the area was amongst the most fertile and productive in the Ross, but nevertheless, after the potato famine of 1846, many of the people were moved away to avoid the worst effects of starvation. The Duke of Argyll moved some to other areas of Mull, but many were encouraged to go overseas as part of the Clearances.
The last of the houses was occupied by a shepherd until the 1930's.

Shiaba is a scheduled ancient monument. This designation means that it is protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The prior consent of the Scottish Ministers (Scheduled Monument Consent) is required for any works which will lead to damage, demolition or destruction of the monument, any works of repair, removal or alteration and addition, and any flooding or tipping.
This does not however stop existing agricultural land use on the site, such as ploughing, cropping or grazing where this already occurs.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that the monument will be actively conserved. This remains the responsibility of the owner, although there is no mechanism under the Act to require owners to carry out conservation works.

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