NUDC was always interested in unlocking the potential of the Udal peninsula and its wonderful archaeological sites; bringing benefits to the local communities at Grenitote and Sollas.  NUDC collaborated with the Comhairle and Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath (CEUT) to create an audio tour app: providing visitors with interpretation on sites and the wider environmental setting. The app is available free to download here.  Interest points trigger automatically on the visitors' device using its GPS signal.

The app itself was created by CMC Associates, who also assisted CEUT to develop digital resources. Further information can be found on their website. 

Udal is an important archaeological site to the north of Grenitote.  The site was excavated by Ian Crawford over a period of 33 years. The resulting collection is now the responsibility of CnES.  Previously, NUDC collaborated on the idea for a Hebridean Archaeological and Environmental Research Centre (HAERC) based in Uist, which aimed to exhibit the collection.  

The feasibility study for the HAERC, published December 2015, by consultants EKOS is available to view by following this link.  This report comprises the Phase 2 research output from a feasibility study on the development of the Hebridean Archaeology and Environmental Research Centre – HAERC – proposed for North Uist.  Although HAERC did not proceed, NUDC believes the Uists have an incredibly rich resource in its environment, and has much to offer the rest of Europe as a “barometer” of climate change.  With some 9,000 years of human occupation, 70% of the world’s machair and Scotland’s best saline lagoons NUDC has continued to pursue the prospect of an environmental centre attraction in the Lochmaddy School project.

​Local group Access Archaeology has a Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/pages/Access-Archaeology
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Background Information:
  1. The Udal peninsula is situated on the north coast of North Uist.
  2. Beginning in the 1960s, based on the early 20th century publication by Erskine Beveridge about North Uist, Iain Crawford an archaeologist and historian (School of Scottish Studies) identified the Udal as a site for investigating the history and continuity of settlement on the west coast of Scotland. Excavations of 3 sites continued for the next 35 years.
  3. Crawford insisted that the 3 Udal sites evidenced continuous settlement from the Neolithic period to the 19th century a timeline of 5,000 years. This would make the collection extremely rare if not unique. “Arguably the most consequential site in Europe in terms of extent, depth and complexity of deposits and artefact retrieval, its importance to Scottish History in particular and archaeology in general cannot be overstated” The Udal Project design document – Iain Crawford.
  4. The collection has been allocated  to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar through Treasure Trove.
  5. The results of Crawford’s excavations were never published, however the analysis techniques we have today did not exist 50 years ago and the fact that the Udal was never published actually presents a very exciting opportunity e.g. a detailed carbon dating programme will enable scientists to tell how the landscape changed throughout the 5,000 years of occupation.​