A companion volume to the guide to The ancient monuments of Shetland, reviewed in Pictish Arts Soc J, 4 (Autumn 1993), 51-52, this book should help to fill a gap in the market for a popular guide to the historic sites of the Outer Hebrides. These are certainly less well known than those in other parts of the country, and The Western Isles provides a short but comprehensive overview of the stages of the area's development, with a selection of the most interesting monuments to visit described in detail.

There are sections on all periods from the Mesolithic to the early 20th century, but the distribution of monuments through time is distinctly unbalanced, reflecting the to very different rates of survival from different eras (and perhaps the specialist interests of the authors). Thus only three monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze Age are described, but six Norse/Medieval churches or complexes are covered in considerable detail, and vernacular architecture is introduced in a comparatively lengthy essay.

The surviving built heritage is rather singular on the islands between North Rona and Barra. In general buildings are more modest in scale even than in culturally closely related Argyll, and all periods are considerably less well studied archaeologically than they are elsewhere - notably in Orkney and Shetland.

There are however a number of monuments of national importance, above all the standing stones of Callanish and its group of associated sites on Lewis - shown on a map but not described individually - which the reader is reminded is 'the most varied collection of standing stones in Britain' (p.ll).

Outstanding in the context of the Iron Age is Dun Carloway on the same island, one of the best preserved of all brochs, and the only site to visit from the period described. Although there was a great efflorescence of fortified sites of various kinds in the Iron Age, many, such as island duns, are difficult to reach. In fact 'Iron Age' is a term that can be legitimately applied to the material culture of the Western Isles almost up to this century, as is pointed out (p. 19).

Early Medieval historical sources barely mention the Outer Isles, and though Early Christian carved stones are fairly numerous, they tend to be less elaborate than in Argyll. The Pictish cross-marked symbol stone on Pabbay is mentioned (one wonders to what extent the Western Isles were part of the Pictish kingdom), but the Early Christian 'site to visit' is, somewhat optimistically, St Ronan's Chapel on North Rona. Although this is one of the few Scottish sites comparable to the best Irish Early Christian remains, it has of course been preserved chiefly by its extreme remoteness. The plans and photographs of the building accompanying the description should be useful for the vast majority of interested parties who will most definitely never visit it.

The chapters on the Norse Settlement and the Middle Ages and thereafter have useful historical summaries - not easy to find elsewhere in compact form, perhaps. The chief surviving Medieval monuments are, as elsewhere, castles and churches. The former are both less common and less impressive than in Argyll except for Kisimul Castle, Barra. Some indeed are almost absurdly small. The photograph of Dun Mhic Leoid, Barra (p.34) makes it look like a child's toy against the surrounding landscape. The Medieval churches are also generally modest in scale, except for St Clement's Church at Rodel on Harris. Some are of unusual plan, and the grouping of several churches and chapels at some sites, for example, at Howmore, South Uist, is noteworthy.

The final chapters cover traditional buildings after the '45 and the development of Stornoway - the only historic burgh in the Western Isles. What might broadly be termed industrial buildings are represented by a 'Norse' mill at Shawbost, Lewis, a whaling station at Bunavoneadar, Harris, and Butt of Lewis Lighthouse.

A useful book for the history-minded visitor to the islands of the west then, well illustrated and reasonably priced, if inevitably a little unbalanced in its scope.

Niall M Robertson