Kinlochbervie & the North-West Highlands · United Kingdom · Wreck
Sgeir Eorna wreck
Wreck site of the largest Italian Renaissance pottery find in Scotland
The Sgeir Eorna wreck is the scattered site of an unidentified ship, most likely a merchant vessel, on the exposed south-west and south sides of the islet of Sgeir Eorna, 4 km south-west of Kinlochbervie harbour. It is protected as the Kinlochbervie Historic Marine Protected Area, and responsible recreational diving is encouraged.
Also known as Kinlochbervie wreck, Kinlochbervie Historic MPA.
Where it is and how deep
58.4365° N, 5.1085° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The main concentration of remains lies at the foot of an underwater cliff, between 25 and 30 m below chart datum on the south-west and south sides of the islet. This is a high-energy environment where only the most durable artefacts appear to have survived.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Unidentified, most likely a merchant ship
- Type
- Post-medieval ship, probably an Iberian merchant vessel
- Cause
- Unknown; lost on the exposed shore of Sgeir Eorna
- Lies
- Scattered remains at the foot of an underwater cliff at 25-30 m
The identity of the ship is unknown, but it was most likely a merchant vessel from the Iberian peninsula, lost during the 1590s or perhaps after 1600. The site has produced the largest group of Italian Renaissance pottery recovered from any archaeological site in Scotland, and the largest group of grotesque maiolica found in Britain, which led to its designation as the Kinlochbervie Historic Marine Protected Area.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Kinlochbervie & the North-West Highlands: Winter diving keeps to the sheltered sea lochs; the exposed north-west sites belong to the rest of the year.
Know before you go
- The islet is an exposed, high-energy site on the south-west and south sides of Sgeir Eorna.
Questions divers ask
Can recreational divers visit the Kinlochbervie Historic MPA wreck?+
Yes. Responsible recreational diving is encouraged inside the protected area, and divers are asked to send Historic Environment Scotland a brief report of their visit to help monitor the wreck.
Sources
- Kinlochbervie Historic MPA — Historic Environment Scotland
More dive sites in Kinlochbervie & the North-West Highlands
Orange-clubbed, polycera, fried-egg and sea-lemon nudibranchs on one dive
Large swim-throughs and huge gullies cut into the island's rock
Wall
Cliffs and boulders covered in loch anemones and peacock worms
Drifting beneath the Kylesku bridge on the tide
Reef
Gullies and swim-throughs, often teeming with shoals of fish and dogfish
Similar dives elsewhere
A 1939 mine casualty broken across a 30 m seabed
A cannon still on its wooden carriage aboard a frigate lost in 1678
Tiger Moth biplanes were in her holds when she went down
Wreck
Chadwick
Isle of Skye · United Kingdom
An upturned 1892 coal ship beneath the cliffs just north of Neist Point