A Beaker from a Short Cist in a Long Cairn at Kilmarie
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I. A BEAKER FROM A SHORT CIST IN A LONG CAIRN AT KILMARIE, . J SKYEGRAHA r B . M CALLANDER, F.S.A.Sco-r., DIRECTOP O R E NATIONATH L MUSEU F ANTIQUITIESMO . About 100 yards north of Kilmarie Lodge, which is situated near e westerth n shor f Loco e h Slapine paristh f Strathn i o h, , Skyea s i , fine exampl a long f o e cairn know s Cnocaa n n Gobhana n r (goats' knowe). It stands on the left bank of the Abhuinn Cille Mhaire (Kilmarie Water) a heigh t e a f ,abou th o t f fee0 o 2 t td abovbe e th e burn d abou an ,fee0 5 t t above sea-level (Inverness-shire, Isl f Skyeo e , O.S. 6-inch map e cair, Th Sheen . measureL) t fee2 length7 sn i t fee8 5 , t in breadth, and 15 feet in height, its longer axis lying 137° east of north magnetic, or about north-west and south-east. When I saw it in 1914, it was one of the most perfect cairns in Skye, and showed 110 signs of having been disturbed by the hands of man. Only at two places were there slight breaks in the surface of the monument, and thes beed eha n partly streacausee th y mdb underminin bane gth n ko which it was erected. In the disturbed places it was seen that the cairn consiste f cleao d n stones withou y soian lt amongst them. Although from its shape and size the cairn was presumed to be of the chambered type largo n , e stones indicatin e portan entranca th g f o l e passage seeii e werb o .t e Whether suc hfeatura e existed could only be determine strippiny db e mantl th f f peato of eg , abou foo1 t t thick, which has crept up the sides and right over the stony mound, the moist climate of Skye being conducive to a vigorous growth of thia material. f Decembeo Towardd en e r th slas t year (1926) I ,receive a dcom - municatio Fraser. M n. r G Fellowsfro ,r ou Portree mM f o whicn e i , on , h he stated that a cist containing a broken urn and human bones had A BEAKER FROM A SHORT CIST AT KILMARIE, SKYE. 23 been discovere thin di s cairn d tha woule an ,h t d send further details opportunitn a d afteha e h rf visitin yo e sitegth . These have since been supplied by Mr Fraser, and from them I have been enabled to furnish e followinth g descriptio e findth .f no Owing to the encroachment of the stream on its banks in the vicinit d beee cairnth ha n f t i y,o decide o protect d t the buildiny mb g a retaining wall of stone. The men engaged on this work, in their search for large boulders, removed some of the stones from the side e cairoth f n neares burne th t . Fortunately before much damagd ha e bee e cairnnth f done slaba ,o p ,to neawhice e th th re hb turneo t t dou south-west end of a short cist, came away, exposing the grave and Fig . Shoi'1 . t Cis lonn i t g Cair t Kilmariena , Skye. revealing a broken urn and some fragments of bone lying on the floor (fig. 1). These objects were removed, and the matter was reported to Mr Fraser, who e estates Factoa th , r fo ,r gave instructions tha0 11 t further disturbance of the cist or the cairn was to be permitted until visited he sam ha eth e site deth t a ;tim intimatee h e discovere dth y to the proprietor, Mr W. L. Johnson of Strathaird, and suggested that the urn and bones might be presented to the National Museum. Mr Johnson very kindly agreed to this, and ordered that no further dis- turbanc e gravth f eeo should take place, als slad ob en tha shoule th t d be put back into its original position, the cist covered up, and the stones which had been removed from the cairn replaced. This work of restoration was carried out shortly afterwards. The cist, which as we have seen lay near the top of the cairn, was covered with little more tha nsingla e laye f stoneo r s wit hcoatina f go peat above. This is clearly shown in the illustration, fig. 1, which has been made from a photograph taken by Mr Fraser. The sides and ends 24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 12, 1927. e cisoth ft were each forme a singl y b de slan edge f o stonbo t ,se e while another forme e coverth de botto th ;s pave mwa d wito tw h slabs, or perhaps by one which had cracked across the centre. The grave measured internall feey3 inche3 t lengthn i s foo1 , t 9J inchen i s breadth foo1 d t 8,an J inche depthn i s s longeit ; r axi abouy sla t north- eassouth-west thia and t floonthe was layerr On dar.of k moulor d soild abovan , ew thife coatina se th f d shorgo an en gravelur e Th . bones which were e gravelrecovereth n o , y nea south-wesde la th r d en t - de e th s wa t i s e cistoA th f . sire of the proprietor that the grave shouls littla e eb d dis- turbe possibles da materiae th , l on the floor of the cist was examined as it lay, but no further relics were recovered. The urn (fig. 2), which is of beakee th r type formes i , a f o d yellowish-brown paste contain- ing a fair admixture of small crushed stones. It measures from 8 to 8| inches in height, 6i- inche n externai s l diameter at the mouth, 6 inches at the neck, 6|- e widesincheth t a st part, and 3| inches across the bottom e walth , l bein f ginc h thick. The top of the rim is very slightly rounded. Encir- Inches, cling the vessel are two broad band f ornamentationo s - in l al , Fig. 2. Beaker from Kibnavie, Skye. cised with a blunt-pointed tool. The higher band, which extends from about f inch below the lip to the lower part of the neck, consists of horizontaa l triple zigzag chevror o n design angleuppee e th th , n rso side being fille witn i d h horizontal straight lines bordered an , d with three similar lines above lowee Th .r band, which cover space sth e fro mshora t distance belo basee nece th w th , o k t show s three doubl triplr eo e horizontal zigzags encircling the wall. The angles of the upper two are so placed as transversf o w foro t ro ma e lozenges nea centrbande e rth th f .eo These lozengehigheo tw e anglee lefe r th th szigzagar t l f plaino sal d t an s ,bu uppee thosth n lowee ro sidth occupiee f erar o d with transverse straight lines therd alscontinuoue an ,o ear o tw suppee lineth n rso margin. A BEAKER FRO MSHORA T CIS T KILMARIEA T , SKYE5 2 . The few fragments of bones which were recovered are incinerated and undoubtedly human. The largest piece is possibly part of a femur, and shows clearly the marks of the teeth of a small rodent which had gnawed it. This discovery is of considerable importance in more than one respect s weli t I l .know n that very much fewer beakers have bee- nre ported fro wese m th f Scotlan o t d than fro east,e mth consequentld 1an y any new discovery of this class of pottery in the first locality is worthy of special attention awarem a . e firsI Thith , s t s a i sbeaker r fa o s , thabees ha tn recorded from Skye whed an , n reading this paped di I r not know of any which had been found in the Outer Hebrides. How- ever, since then Mr Allan D. Macmillan, Barrhead, has shown me two small fragmentwhichn ur n a , frof o e sthicknes mth characted an s f o r designe th e ware th d san , impresse t witi well-knowe n hdth o n toothed stamp of the early Bronze Age, must have been of the beaker type. The shards were found during the summer of this year in a short cist, in the parish of Lochs, Lewis, which had been opened two years before. The cist t bee, whicno nd coverehha cairna s formey db wa , f shoro d t slabs set on edge, and a layer of sand had been placed on the floor. In addition to the urn the unburnt remains of a human skeleton were e gravefounth n i d. The Kilmarie burial, occurrin t doei s ga s nea summie cairnrth e th f to , must be a secondary one, and from the fact that it contained a beaker which we can assign to the early part of the Bronze Age, we are justified in believing that the primary burial over which the cairn has been raise s containei d a chambe n i da for f mo r thae considew t r belongs to the late Neolithic Period. The position of the cist, so near the top of the mound, is unusual, as also is the very thin covering of stones which had been placed over it.