Amid the ruins of two eighteenth-century farmsteads in a forest near Scotland’s Loch Ard, archaeologists have identified buildings that appear to be the remains of an illicit whisky distillery. (When in Scotland, be sure to leave out the “e” in whiskey.) The buildings survive alongside the remnants of kilns for drying corn, which may have been used in the distilled spirits. A number of factors, including the site’s secluded location, its relative proximity to Glasgow, roughly 25 miles south, and its easy access to the loch’s waters, would have made it attractive to illegal whisky producers, says archaeologist Matt Ritchie of Forest and Land Scotland. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, felonious distilling became common in the Scottish Highlands as stills making less than 100 gallons of whisky were banned, and high taxes were imposed on the malted grains used to produce the spirit.
Still Standing
SHARE:
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2023
Bog Togs
(National Museums Scotland)
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2023
Storming the Castle
(Courtesy Copyright HES)
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2022
Pictish Pictograms
(University of Aberdeen)
Off the Grid July/August 2022
Jarlshof, Shetland, Scotland
(Courtesy Stephen Dockrill)
-
Letter from Ireland January/February 2020
The Sorrows of Spike Island
Millions were forced to flee during the Great Famine—some of those left behind were condemned to Ireland’s most notorious prison
(Courtesy Barra O’Donnabhain) -
Artifacts January/February 2020
Bronze and Iron Age Drinking Vessels
(Alexander Frisch, Museen der Stadt Regensburg) -
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2020
The Man in Prague Castle
(Prague Castle excavations, Institute of Archaeology, Prague) -
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2020
As Told by Herodotus
(Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, franckgoddio.org)