Found this nice little map of archaeological sites near Portree . Seems to have been quite a well populated area from neolithic onwards and of course there must have been far more settlements, hut circles etc where the evidence has been lost or has yet to be uncovered. We can only guess at the true extent of population.
The map is taken from the report on the excavation
carried out by CFA archaeology prior to
the building of the Kiltaraglen residential area in Portree . (“Excavation
of post-built roundhouses and a circular ditched enclosure at Kiltaraglen, Portree,
Isle of Skye, 2006–07”) . The report can be seen online http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-310-1/dissemination/pdf/sair54.pdf
Worth reading but very technical and so hard going if you are not (as I am not) totally au fait with terminology used .
Shame that the only times we get a decent archaeological dig is when someone wants to raze everything to the ground to build structures which probably won't survive 100 years let alone 2,000. However, that "someone" has to pay for the dig:-)
