Ri Cruin

Nearest town:
Lochgilphead (9km SE)
OS reference:
NR825972
OS sheet:
55
Latitude:
56° 7' 4.16 N
Longitude:
5° 29' 57.08 W

Images

Image of Ri Cruin (Cairn(s)) by Rhiannon

I don’t know where this was, or where it is, but it is so unusual that it surely demands inclusion?

There were two stones, one at each end of a central cist (of three) in a cairn, on the Poltalloch estate. As you can see, one of them had linear markings, which the Reverend Mapleton took to be Ogham (though to the untrained eye they don’t look very Oghamish), and the other some shallow carvings in the apparent shape of Bronze Age axes. Someone at the reading of the paper suggested they might be for casting such axes. On another stone were 10 or 11 cupmarks.

The description of the cairn’s whereabouts is a bit vague: In the glen that extends from Loch Awe to the Crinan Canal are several sand and gravel banks rising among the moss, in many of which cairns and cists have been found. One such gravel-bank contains a very interesting cist. It is skirted on the east by moss, and on the west by reclaimed pasture-land, which was loose moss about forty or forty-five years ago [ie c1840]; at that time the bank was trenched for the purpose of planting, and it is now occupied by a small plantation. There are remains of the cairn; but as some houses were built on the spot, it is not easy to ascertain the limits or size of the cairn. The situation of the plantation is in the middle of the flat extent of land between Callton Mor, the residence of Mr. Malcolm*, of Poltalloch, and the village of Kilmartin.

*this being the big house at Poltalloch.

from
Note on a Cist with Engraved Stones on the Poltalloch Estate, County of Argyll
R. J. Mapleton
The Journal of the Ethnological Society of London (1869-1870), Vol. 2, No. 3 (1870), pp. 340-342

Image credit: The Reverend R J Mapleton
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Jul 2, 2008
Image of Ri Cruin (Cairn(s)) by greywether

Best image I have of the chalked cup-and-ring outline. Digitally darkened a bit to bring it out.

greywether
greywether Dec 11, 2003

Articles

Ri Cruin

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Jul 5, 2023

Like other contributors the cairn at Ri Cruin had no visitors when we arrived, a fine place to reflect on previous sites visited on the way here, a fine place to think about the sites yet to come, a fine place full stop.

The cairn has seen a fair amount of the ‘recycling’ treatment but retains its almost 20m width, some kerbs in situ, three cists along with plenty cairn material.

A great site, before the complex X.

Visited 04/04/2023.

Ri Cruin

C
CARL Aug 1, 2015

Visited 24.7.15

The last time I came to Kilmartin it rained and rained and then rained some more. In fact it never stopped raining from the moment I arrived to the time I left. Kilmartin is a joy but is more of a joy in decent weather. A return visit was always on the agenda and here we are, 5 years later, back in Kilmartin glen.

We were booked into a B+B opposite the museum and as it was a lovely summer’s evening I didn’t want t waste the opportunity. Karen agreed to take the children to the B+B and let me have the rest of the day to myself to re-explore the many wonderful sites Kilmartin has to offer – result!

Karen dropped me off near Ri Cruin and drove off. I immediately headed up the path and was keen to see if this site was as good as I remembered it? And of course, it was! I had the place to myself and eagerly sought out the axe head carvings. The light wasn’t great for this but I did spot them once I got my eye in.

With its relative seclusion away from the ‘main’ Kilmartin sites you are likely to also have the place to yourself. The axe heads, cists and surroundings still (alongside Dunned Fort) makes this my favorite Kilmartin site. Simply wonderful.

Ri Cruin

C
CARL Jun 8, 2010

It is perhaps surprising that although the other sites in Kilmartin had lots of people visiting (despite the weather) there was no one here. I parked in the lane near the house (also a B+B) and took the short walk up the little path which runs alongside the house. I had read about the axe head carvings and spent ages laying on my belly with my head in the cist trying to spot them. I was jusy about to give up when I noticed the other cist – and there they were (3 of them if I remember correctly) quite easy to spot once your eyes adjust. The first, and so far only, axe head carvings I have seen. Well worth a visit.

Ri Cruin

Hob
Hob Aug 12, 2005

I enjoyed visiting this site more than any of the other cairns in the area.

It was totally deserted, and very peaceful. The axehead carvings in the south cist are very nice, and I was quite taken with the capstone of the west cist.

I couldn’t make out any traces of a cup-and-ring on the stone of the south cist, as is shown chalked in Greywether’s photo, but then, maybe the light has to be just right for it to appear. I find it nicer to think it may actually be there, hiding in plain view.

Ri Cruin

greywether
greywether Dec 11, 2003

When visited in August this year, someone had chalked in a cup and ring mark on the large flat horizontal stone to the right of the axeheads. Widely spaced rings with a groove.

Not something you would do on a whim so did someone see something which only shows up in certain lighting conditions?

Photo posted.

Ri Cruin

IronMan
IronMan Oct 25, 2002

This place gave me goosebumps as I approached – there is so much more to the place than meets the eye. The setting is difficult to place in relation to the other linear cemetry sites, as unlike the others it is completely surrounded by trees. This does give it a unique feel though – something like Wayland’s Smithy. I took a long break here as the sun streamed through the trees.

Topics

Ri Cruin / Kilmartin Accomodation 2
summerlands
summerlands
Apr 2011

Sites within 20km of Ri Cruin

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