Kitchen middens, those telltale accumulations of shells and food waste that mark where our ancestors once lived and dined, are recorded on the 3rd edition of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch map. In 1902, the antiquarian Welch reported finding intriguing artefacts at Tranarossan including a bronze pin, half of a quern stone used for grinding grain, and various bones; evidence of both daily life and the occasional lost treasure.

About 200 metres west and closer to the shoreline, visitors can still make out the western half of what appears to be a circular stone enclosure measuring 12.5 metres across. The structure’s drystone walls, built without mortar in the traditional manner, survive in places up to two courses high, reaching about 60 centimetres. This modest height might not seem impressive now, but it represents centuries of survival against Atlantic storms and shifting sands.

The site offers more than just this single structure; short lines of stones are visible poking through the sand to the east and south of what’s been interpreted as a possible hut site. These fragmentary remains hint at a larger settlement complex that once stood here, perhaps a small community that relied on both the sea and the land for sustenance, as suggested by the mix of marine shells in the middens and the agricultural quern stone found nearby.