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Argyll and Bute (Mainland)
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Sites/Groups in this region:
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1 post
Achalevan Cairn(s) |
24 posts
Achnacree Chambered Tomb |
16 posts
Achnacreebeag Chambered Tomb |
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22 posts
Achnagoul I Chambered Cairn |
12 posts
Achnagoul II Chambered Cairn |
5 posts
An Fuaran Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
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4 posts
Ardachearanbeg Standing Stone / Menhir |
3 posts
Ardachearanbeg Chambered Cairn |
10 posts
Ardchonnell Chambered Cairn |
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4 posts
Ardlamont Point Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
26 posts
Ardmarnock Chambered Cairn |
17 posts
Ardnadam Chambered Cairn |
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14 posts
Ardno Cairn(s) |
14 posts
Auchachenna Chambered Cairn |
4 posts
Auchagoyle Cup Marked Stone |
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10 posts
Auchalick Wood Hillfort |
2 posts
Auchengaich Bullaun Stone |
4 posts
Auchenlochan Cup Marked Stone |
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4 posts
Auchnagarran Standing Stone / Menhir |
21 posts
1 site Auchnaha Chambered Cairn |
5 posts
Balliemore Standing Stones |
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6 posts
Barbreck Stone Row / Alignment |
5 posts
Barmore Wood Chambered Cairn |
6 posts
Barnashaig (Tayvallich) Standing Stone / Menhir |
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4 posts
Barrackan cairns Cairn(s) |
1 post
Benderloch Standing Stone / Menhir |
1 post
Benderloch B Standing Stone / Menhir |
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Braids
Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art
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30 posts
1 site Brainport Bay Solar Alignment Stone Row / Alignment |
1 post
Caisteal Nan Coin Dubh Stone Fort / Dun |
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1 post
Clachan of Glendarvel Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
1 post
Clachan Strachur shcoolhouse Stone Circle (Destroyed) |
11 posts
Cladich Chambered Cairn |
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1 post
Colintraive Cairn(s) |
22 posts
Crarae Garden Chambered Cairn |
3 posts
Dalmu' Neasiag Cup Marked Stone |
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32 posts
Dalnaneun Farm, Loch Nell Chambered Cairn |
5 posts
Drumfad Cup Marked Stone |
8 posts
Duachy Standing Stones |
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1 post
Dunan Aula Cist |
14 posts
Evanachan Farm Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
6 posts
Glenmachrie Stone Row / Alignment |
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1 post
Inistrynich Crannog |
1 post
Inveraray Cairns Cairn(s) |
16 posts
Inveraray Castle Standing Stone / Menhir |
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5 posts
Inveryne Standing Stones |
6 posts
Inveryne Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
9 posts
Kames Standing Stones |
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14 posts
93 sites Kilmartin Area |
1 post
Kilmory Knap Chapel Bullaun Stone |
3 posts
42 sites Kintyre |
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4 posts
Lephinkill Chambered Cairn |
3 posts
Lephinmore Cup Marked Stone |
1 post
Lochan A'chirn Cairn(s) |
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2 sites
Loch Nell |
4 posts
Low Stillaig Standing Stone / Menhir |
5 posts
Nelson's Monument Standing Stone / Menhir |
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1 post
North Beachmore Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
1 post
Pier House Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
14 posts
Port Sonachan Chambered Cairn |
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7 posts
Serpent Mound, Loch Nell Artificial Mound |
3 posts
Shemore Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
3 posts
Sluggan Standing Stone / Menhir |
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5 posts
Stillaig Standing Stones |
4 posts
4 sites The Strontoiller Group |
1 post
Stuckindroin Cairn(s) |
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1 post
Tom Nam Clach Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art |
2 posts
Turnalt Farm Carving |
5 posts
Upper Fernoch (Tayvallich) Standing Stone / Menhir |
Sites of disputed antiquity:
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1 post
The Bull Stone Natural Rock Feature |
News |
 Add news |
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4,000 Year Old Bronze Age Axe Heads Found In Argyll http://www.scotsman.com/news/4-000-year-old-bronze-age-axe-heads-found-in-argyll-1-4268374 |
Posted by drewbhoy27th October 2016ce |
Remains of at least two bodies found in ancient graveThis is a tentative guess for this news item in Ardnamurchan... Archaeologists have discovered the remains of at least two bodies in a Bronze Age burial cist in a remote area of the west Highlands... continues... |
Posted by moss19th August 2014ce |
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Archaeologists In Oban Discover Bronze Age Was Height Of Cool They had fridges, state of art heating systems and possibly even access to a sauna. More info : http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/arcaheologists-in-oban-discover-bronze-age-was-height-of-coll-1-2335347 |
Posted by drewbhoy 3rd June 2012ce |
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Hopes Heritage Trail Will Boost Mid Argyll Tourism A New path links the Crinan canal with Carnasserie Castle. (Kilmartin is nearby) More info : http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2175522 |
Posted by drewbhoy 12th March 2011ce |
Folklore |
Add folklore |
Mr. Lang, in his article on the' Cup and Ring,'* mentions how in Argyll a woman who desires to have a baby will slide down a cup-marked {i.e., an inscribed) rock, and adds that the sliding is attested by a chief of Clan Diarmid... J. H. RIVETT-CARNAC. Schloss Wildeck, Switzerland.From Notes and Queries, April 27th, 1901. *I believe this refers to the 1899 article in the 'Contemporary Review'. |
Posted by Rhiannon28th August 2006ce Edited 28th August 2006ce |
Links |
Add a link |
ADSMid Argyll: a field survey of the historic and prehistoric monuments - by Marion Campbell and Mary L S Sandeman. This article is cited frequently in the Canmore records for the area, and was printed in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland v 95 (1961/2). |
Posted by Rhiannon 3rd July 2012ce |
Latest posts for Argyll and Bute (Mainland) |
Showing 1-10 of 2,110 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Achnacree (Chambered Tomb) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
  
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Posted by Howburn Digger26th April 2019ce |
Drumfad (Cup Marked Stone) — Images |
   
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Posted by mascot21st January 2019ce |
Drumfad (Cup Marked Stone) — Fieldnotes |
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Surprised when I found this one isn't on TMA as it's on a well marked path and has been taken under the wing of the North Clyde Archeology Society. Easy to visit. Park at Hill House NT car park at the top end of Helensburgh. Take the marked path to Rhu and about 1km (15 min walk along well made paths) from the car park this large rock is on the left of the path in a clearing as you pass through trees. Still well marked this large rock has been split into roughly 4 chunks. There is a plaque at the side giving details. An impressive stone that would have been stunning before split. Some details and pictures at https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5204250 https://canmore.org.uk/site/41455/drumfad |
Posted by mascot 26th December 2018ce |
Kintraw (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Images |
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Posted by Howburn Digger 18th December 2018ce |
Auchoish (Chambered Cairn) — Fieldnotes |
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I'm sure Stephen Hawking - now of course occupying his rightful niche between Mr Newton and Mr Darwin in eternity (although why we have the remains of two exceptional atheists within Westminster Abbey is, er, rather puzzling) - would've been able to forward a convincing theory as to where the time goes... however it's 17 years since I first ventured forth into the verdant Kilmartin Glen, a more-or-less megalithic illiterate seduced into undertaking the nightmare-inducing drive from Essex by the siren call of Mr Cope's garishly coloured tome. A lot of water has flowed under both the allegorical bridge and that which connects my home island to the mainland in the interim; however one aspect of my life that has proved pretty constant is the compulsion to seek out new places associated with those pioneers responsible for laying the foundations of the - admittedly 'wobbly' - edifice we call civilisation. So yes, while the great linear grouping of monuments gracing the glen will rightly take precedent for newcomers, the periphery exerts a far greater attraction for me nowadays. I mean, with time so limited why repeat oneself when there is so much more to discover? Such as the Auchoish chambered cairn where all but Greywethers fear to tread. It is therefore with a fair degree of irony that, following an overnighter beside the mighty Loch Awe, I note, upon perusing the map, that an approach to said chambered cairn will mean passing the tourist honeypot that constitutes the Achnabreck rock art panels. Hey, but while I'm here.... guess it would be pedantic, if not downright rude not to have a look. What can you do? Furthermore it is doubly - nay, trebly - ironic that, despite consciously avoiding the goddam place for all these years, I duly find myself captivated by the beguiling, swirling, circular motifs and depressions carved into the naked rock. Touch, arguably that most sensual of senses, confirms the growing feeling that executing such designs must've been a very time consuming process indeed. And then some. A serious undertaking surely only justifiable by a correspondingly high accepted 'worth' of the finished 'product'. Hell, this art must've really meant something. OK, no doubt the (almost) complete absence of other punters this overcast, drizzly morning lent a positive cadence to the silent symphony playing out within my head... but even so, isn't it great to have such specific preconceptions proven so emphatically wrong in such an overwhelmingly affirmative manner? Yeah, I can handle that. So.… moving on I pick up the forestry track heading east. Now stomping along such tracks - while not my favourite of pastimes - does have compensations, such as the clean scent of pine pervading the muggy, moist atmosphere; appealing enough in lieu of a fragrance of a more deciduous origin. Or Chanel No.5 in the nape of a woman's neck. Sadly the compensations do not extend to a chat with Keith Flint... well, seeing as a notice informs the traveller this is also the 'Twisted Fire Starter' mountain bike trail. But there you are. To be fair the unusually coiffured gentleman did appear rather athletic performing within the video back in the day; but then again we are all inexorably advancing in years, are we not? And 'Breathe' was by far a better tune. The route duly swings abruptly south before veering north (thankfully conflagrations are not in evidence), passing an old quarry prior to crossing the Auchoish Burn where one should select the left hand fork. Unfortunately things now get a bit complicated (I won't say 'interesting' upon the assumption that disciples of Donatien Alphonse François tend not to favour seeking out Neolithic chambered cairns upon Scottish hillsides) the monument being located 'somewhere' upon the thickly afforested rise to the right. According to the 1:25K OS map matters should be straightforward enough; however the trees are so dense that an attempt to head straight to the tomb on a compass bearing is a non-starter. Consequently I head further along the track before making a very rough ascent to the highest ground in the locale and taking a bearing from there. This allows me to pick up the heavily overgrown run depicted upon the map and, knee deep in mud, systematically force my way through to the monument within its clearing. Brute force is not something to be admired. However sometimes needs must. It is immediately apparent that all this effort is so, so worthwhile: the elongated 'Clyde' cairn is aligned on a SW/NE axis with the significant remains of a façade/forecourt to north-east... a number of the orthostats still standing before the hollow ghost of a chamber, albeit with traces of stone work also to be seen within the latter. For me, however, it is the relatively well preserved lateral chamber subsumed within the lower, south-western section of the substantial cairn that represents the structural pièce de résistance. Greywether reckons there could even be a rare 'porthole' stone in situ. Didn't realise at the time, but in retrospect I'm not going to disagree with the suggestion since there are definitely two segments here with curiously shaped dividing stones. However at a fundamental level the primary motivation to visit sites such as Auchoish is surely the response to the question 'how does it make me feel to be here?' Hence the discerning Citizen Cairn'd will surely wish to make the effort to come for the - in my opinion - truly exceptional vibe further enhanced by the site's isolation from the general (relative) hubbub of the area. Yeah, unlike the arguably over manicured monuments within Kilmartin Glen itself the silence here is absolute, a serenity so total the atmosphere is electric. If you excuse the oxymoron. Despite the drizzle-laden cloud sweeping, quite literally, through the treeline according optimum conditions for the midge - that wee awful woman aside - Scotland's most appalling inhabitant, I stay for approx three hours before retracing my steps. A diversion to the enigmatic, moss-clad remains of Dun Na Maraig ensures I reach the car in no fit state to do anything but sleep. To be fair a man can ask for no further reward from a day pottering around in the damp forest: obscure chambered cairn, hill fort and.... well …. how does one begin to describe, to attempt to decipher the meaning inherent in those symbols? Then again, perhaps it is best that we never do so. That we simply allow them to inspire that symphony in the head? |
Posted by GLADMAN30th June 2018ce Edited 3rd July 2018ce |
Showing 1-10 of 2,110 posts. Most recent first | Next 10
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