I feel a bit embarrassed about posting this site as rock art, as I feel it's more of a settlement. It's the lumpy outcroppy bit to the north of the village of Slockavullin. It's got traces of circular structures, one of which was described to me by a local grockle as a 'banked stone circle'. It might have been, it is an earthen bank, and it has stones in it, but it's not very likely to be honest. I think they are more likely to have been grounding stones of a building, only one of them was standing, and then only to a height of about 80cms. I couldn't help but wonder if the 18thC buildings which constitute the current village was built on top of a much older site, mostly for the same reasons, it's flat, but no good for farming, but it has a good water source and is close to the good farming bits. If trees weren't there, it would be a 20m walk to a point where you'd be able to see all of the monuments from Ballymeanoch to Glebe Cairn, and from the outcrop, you could easily throw a stone into the centre of Templewood.
Quite frankly, the rock art is a bit rubbish. In retrospect, I wasted far too much time here (probably in excess of 15 hours over the space of a week) that could have been much better spent further uphill around Loch Michean.
Visited August 2006
The scanty details on RCAHMS can be found http://lmid1.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/newcanmore.details_gis?inumlink=76379 "> here .
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We visited these two as part of an abortive attempt to see if we could get to Ormaigwith the kids in tow. Didn't get to Ormaig, but it was still worth the walk, goodly sized, stately stones, and a nice view.
From the look of things, it could be a bit of a faff to get here from the castle car park. The 'pasture' field that you have to cross is no longer pasture, and I couldn't see a gate anywhere. The path that leads up from the south was no bother at all.
Visited August 2006
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Quite overgrown in summer. Some of the stones were hard to spot. However, as this is due to the fence protecting it from cattle, It'd be churlish to complain too vociferously.
One of the stones (the westernmost one I think) has a peculiar feature that at first I was tempted to see as part of an artificial chevron pattern similar to that once found at Carn Bàn in Kilmartin. Upon reflection, I concluded that it's natural, though of course I'd like to think I'm wrong.
This circle seems to have once been the focal monument in the area, being on the natural route across the island, and hence from Southern Scotland over to Kintyre and the isles. The single stone at East Colmac allegedly forms the central point between this circle and the point at which the sun rises on the summer solstice. There's an enigmatic earthwork, of prehistoric origin, but uncertain nature, as well as the numerous cup marked stones in the area. Ettrick Burn alone boasts 12 separate marked stones.
Visited August 2006
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Passed this small stone without getting a decent photo, but it looked like the thing described by RCAHMS as 1.6M tall, leaning over. Apparently older maps showed a second stone at the same spot. Given it's proximity to the circle at Ettrick Bay, it's tempting to wonder if this stone has some sort of alignment to the circle in the same way as the nearby stone at East Colmac
Almost visited August 2006
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This single stone can be considered an outlier for Ettrick Bay circle, as apparently in conjunction with the circle, it forms an alignment for Summer Solstice sunrise. It was once thought to be part of a circle of its very own, but this idea seems to have fallen out of favour as there is no evidence for other stones.
I didn't tromp through the crop, and had to content myself to a view through a zoom lens from the edge of the field.
Visited August 2006
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I can confirm Merrick's observation about wheelchair access, the right hand fork also has a better surface.
I'd also agree with the comments below about the strange ambience induced by the cairn's peculiar combination of ruinous state and Heritage manicure.
The largest stone has some interesting natural features, reminiscent of cup marks, but also hinting at fossilised mussel shells. I'd like to think these marks had something to do with this particular stone being chosen for inclusion into the body of the cairn.
A nocturnal visit produced no evidence of the 'shadowy phantoms' mentioned below.
Visited August 2006
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It's a lucky stone to have survived the building of the Castle, as we were told that in creating the castle grounds, the Laird in those days destroyed a whole village that was in the way. Presumably megaliths were considered to be fashionable for statey homes at the time, I've seen ones elsewhere get physically lifted to act as posh garden ornaments.
Nowadays, it sits as a spectator to the footy played on the pitch it's only a couple of feet away from. The proximity to the goalposts and a picnic table makes it seem more than a tad incongruous. But kinda nice at the same time.
Visited August 2006
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I'll agree with Iron Man in that this cairn, despite the state it's in (or probably because of it) has a more satisfying feel than the reconstructed ones near it. The thickness of the grass and the way the stones peek through imparts the sense that this monument is a survivor. I don't know how true that really is,as it's quite wrecked, and is probably the one most people would miss out as it looks less impressive from a distance, but it feels like it has endured.
In the dark, it was the only one in the Glen that seemed to me to possess a 'sense of presence'. Ri Cruin and Dunchraigaig are just a bit dank at night whilst I found Largie South and North are somewhat soulless, even at the witching hour, but Central Largie felt almost like a living thing. Nice.
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Excellent site. Not easy to spot from the road, and the track is a bit 'blink and you miss it', the big metal shed on the shelf above the road is a good marker.
The stones were larger than I'd expected, with lovely lichen. The cist is in reasonable condition, shame the covering cairn is long since gone.
There seems to be a bedrock viewing platform behind the stone setting, possibly something to do with all the alleged archaeoastronomical shenanigans. On the day I visted, the silhouette of Jura was almost lost in the haze, so Gigha seemed significant in the choice of this spot as a place designated for the standing up of stones.
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Strange little stones.
They now have a protective wooden fence, presumably to stop the cattle from using them as rubbing stones.
The proximity to St Ninian's Chapel is interesting, it's an old early Celtic christian site, with inevitable thoughts of earlier provenance and possible continuities arising in my mind.
Apart from anything else, it's an absolutely beautiful spot.
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It's completely different kind of stone when compared to those at Machrie. It would look more at home on the Isle of Lewis.
It's a damn good one. Nice shape, size, good lichen, nice views, fairly easy to get to, with the fallen twin hiding in the grass as a bonus. It's lovely and sculptural.
It's easy to get to from the farmhouse halfway up to Auchencar, where the folks were happy to dispense permission for tromping across the field. Beware though, dodgy narrow track and not much space to turn a vehicle.
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Small stone by Arran standards, which just adds to the incongruity of its location, on neatly manicured grass at the edge of a small car park. I'd not read the RCAHMS stuff below when I visited, but even without that, the idea that this may be the sole survivor of a cairn seemed plausible, there are a few in the immediate vicinity. There's bog all else to suggest it on the ground though, I guess the road and carpark have eradicated anything above ground. I can't recall any linear ridgey feature such as is mentioned below.
The other points of note are the views of the strange little island of Pladda, just offshore, and the lurking cone of Ailsa Craig on the horizon.
RCAHMS says:
The ONB (1864) gives an alternative name of "Tumulus" for this feature, the surveyor's comments being "I have no authority for this object beyond its general appearance to warrant it being called a tumulus. There is a large standing stone, 3ft 7 ins x 3ft 6 ins x 6 ins (Balfour 1910) on the N side of it, with a smaller stone adjoining (not noticed by Balfour) The whole object is higher than the adjacent ground although partly levelled for the road." The words "giving the appearance of the remains of a stone circle" have been added by the examiner. Balfour adds "a stone circle, known to have existed here at one time, was removed when making the road".
A standing stone situated in a level grassy area and located approximately 30.0m from the edge of the coastal cliff. It is a plain weathered stone 1.1m high, 0.9m broad and 0.2m thick. A small (0.3m high) scarp runs southwestwards from the stone for 9.0m; it is not clear if this is artificial or merely an undulation in the ground. There is no surface evidence of either a cairn, a stone circle or the second "smaller" stone.
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You pass this little stone box on the wooded hillock just to your left as you go from Ri Cruin to Templewood. A quick scramble up from the rusted gate involves hopping about in the mud.
It looks strange at first, as the side facing Ri Cruin is exposed, with the side slab popped out, giving the impression it could be some sort of letterboxed cairn-viewing-platform for very small people. Apparently it's not though. Seemingly there are enough traces of jointed grooves to indicate that when it was built, it had four sides, as per normal cist construction. No cups visible on the capstone. Bruach na Cuirte means 'Brae (hill) of the Court'.
The RCAHMS entry can be found here.
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Visited August 2005
This one gets half marks for accessibility. It's right next to the track up to the main bit of the moor, so you can't miss it, but it has an annoying gate that prevents easy wheelchair access.
It's one of the most tightly manicured lawns I've seen at a site in a good while. Quite a contrast to the other bits and bobs on the moor, which have a nicer wooly ambience.
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I can't think of much to say about this stone. It's definitely not difficult to find, and being about 2 feet from the road, it's very accessible. I got the feeling that it's placement had to be something to do with this spot being at the narrowest point of the island, but can't quite explain why.
The one thing I feel I can say is this is a much nicer stone than the one at the south of the island at Cathan's Church. Shame it's been a bit broken, but it does make it a nice shape.
Visited August 2006
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It's definitely got Ogham, but is it prehistoric? I dunno. It's right next to a very old churchy spot, complete with very old ruined church, so it's got that feel of 'Christianised site' a bit like what I imagine Manx Keeils are like. A bit of reading has got me fairly sure this is the Cnoc-a'-Charra, or 'the hill of the pillar.'
It's quite unlike the confirmed prehistoric stone up to the north of the island. This one is much more dressed looking. It's also not in it's original position.
I was slightly miffed that I didn't get time to go looking for the similarly unmappped 14ft fallen stone known as the 'Achadh-a'-Charra', to the west of St. Cathan's, currently on drain-cover duties.
I'd hoped to find the two other stones nearby, apparently known as 'The Cailleach and the Bodach', but they aren't mapped, I had no guide, and it was getting dark. I bottled out.
In retrospect, I wonder if the plethora of names which seem to be applied to stones on Gigha might mask the fact that this stone and that covering the drain nearby, might not in fact be the Cailleach and the Bodach.
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The main thing that struck me about this place was how different all the stones are. Red ones, smooth ones, grey ones, crinkly ones, quartzy ones, allsorts. A couple of them looked to have possible cups, but on closer inspection, these proved to be totally natural.
Halfway up a hill seems an odd spot for such a thing, but there must have been a reason, makes it easier to get to for one thing. If you're passing from Machrie to head to Ardrossan or Brodick (or vice versa), it's worth stopping and making the short hop up from the road.
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Visited July 2006
I was slightly disappointed with my experience of this stone, though that was largely due to the poor light in which I saw it. It was more or less mid-day, with bright summer sunlight. This made the motifs (mostly cups, but with a couple of rings) difficult to see. They are quite worn, they do have quite a covering of lichen, so it was difficult to reconcile it with the diagram in Stan Beckinsall's book.
On the plus side, the stone is easy to find, being just to the left of the forestry track. In a better light, it should be easier to see the arkings. Given that the views are to the east, morning would probably be the best time. Evening would probably not be a good time, as immediately to the west, there is naught but hillside, so the stone would be in shadow.
(A word of warning, the whopping great trucks come belting down that track at some speed, as they aren't expecting to see anyone. The stone is on a bend, so don't be tempted to leave anything hanging about on the track, lest it get flattened)
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It's only taken 14 years, but I finally seen the darn thing in the real.
I reckon it was made by the same person who did the one at Dod Law Hillfort.
The heather burning has come within 3m of the panel. Careful with that fire! Burn not the carvings, for they are nice.
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I like the Prehistoric Rock Art of Northumberland:
Ketley Crag
Chatton
Weetwood Moor
Dod Law
Roughting Linn
Lordenshaw
Fowberry Cairn
Hunterheugh
Old Bewick
Morwick
Currently obsessed with waving torches at things, often including rocks, as a prelude to some serious waving of torches at rocks that will inevitably appear here on tma at some point :)
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