Strath Tay in the Second Millennium B.C. a Field Survey

Home , Ardtalnaig, Burn (landform), Glen, Loch Tay, Strath

E SECONTH STRATN I D Y MILLENNIUHTA M B.C. A FIELD SURVEY by MARGARET E. C. STEWART, PH.D., F.S.A.SCOT.

THE county of Perth covers an area in which geographical features have helped the migration and distribution of prehistoric people. There are three east to west routes in central Perthshire (fig. i) which are accessibl peoplr efo e moving inland from eithe Atlantie rth Norte coaststh a r hcSe o .

FIG. i. Central Perthshire mose Th t northerly route follow line Locf th seo h Rannoc Locd han h Tummel. Along this way the heads of Glen Coe, Glen Etive and Glen Orchy are linked with the valley of the Carry and ultimately with the Tay. Glen Coe is linked to the sea t Loca h Linnhe while Glen Etiv Gled ean n reachee Orchb n yca d fro Firte mth h of Lome. The second route is based on Loch Tay and communicates westward by the valley of the Dochart and the shoulder of Ben More with Loch Lomond, Loch Fyne, Loch Lon Locd gan h Awe. Finally Loch Earn provides an alternative route from Loch Long and Loch Lomond either by Inversnaid and Loch Voil or else by Glen Ogle. Eastwards this route connects by long navigable stretches on the river Earn with the Tay estuary. While respecting the dangers of geographical determinism, structural and other remains show that intrusive cultures to the central zone of the southern Highlands r otheo hav e thesf o r on e ef mad o routes e eus . Not all the routes were used equally or contemporaneously. A field survey of the 2 7 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , 1958-59 Loch Tumme Locd an l h Rannoch route show markesa d absenc monumentf eo f so Eare earlied th Bronze nan d th routee an r whereaeAg y s Ta wer e th se much fre- quente secone th n di d millenium e otheth rn O hand. e northerth , n routs ewa patronise y forb d t builder o havwh se left their handiwork scattere n Strati d h Tummel and also in Glen Lyon which connects by a series of easy passes north to Loch Rannoc wesd hGlean o t n Orchy. These people were followed alon same gth e route at a later date by early Christian missionaries from lona. The importance of the Tay and the Earn routes for the archeeology of the second millennium in Scotland was first noted by Mr Lacaille but the subject was first

studie late detair Lindsan di th eSi y b l y Scott. r LindsaSi y assumed tha traffie th t c 1 2 was exclusively from the west and based his argument on the Irish and west coast affinities of archaeological material from central and north-eastern Scotland. He should have made allowanc reciprocar efo l traffic fro ease mth t coase t leasth a t o t fertile limith f eo t landStratd Stratan n si y h hEarnbotTa n i r hfo , these valleys ther a typ f s monumenti eo e , almost certainl f seconyo d millenium date, whose riverine distribution indicates inlan westward dan d penetration fro coaste mth f o s the North Sea. Since Professor Piggott published his distribution map of chambered tombs of the Clyde-Carlingford culture in IQ54 outliers to his main area of concentration in

south-west Scotland have grown steadil number3 n yi s (fig. 2)curiouA . s feature th f eo whicn i y distributioe extensiohth wa e th s ni f thes no e tombs turns north froe mth Clyde isthmus instea continuinf do g eastward toward t alway no Forthe s sth i s t I . profitable to look for the reason why prehistoric migratory movements made use of a particular route because the reason, if it exists, may not be capable of expression termn i moderf o s nsecone societycase th f th y eo d n I Ta millenniu. e th f o e mus Eare th nd routean s ther howeves ei r justificatio seekinn ni explaio gt peoply nwh e dragged their canoes ove 6oo-fta r . watershe muss da t have happened between Glen Falloch and Glen Dochart. It is suggested that the main reason was the heavy oak forest then covering the carse clays above Stirling. Today the remains of this prehistoric fores representee ar t extensivy db e peat bed whicf so largese h th besd an tt known is Flanders Moss. In the last hundred years much of the land underlying 4 pea e bees th ha t n reclaime originae th d dan l forese limit uncertaine th f ar tso t bu

it must have come close t5 o the chambered tombs on Stockiemuir6 and Dunbarton- muir. It is from this point that the distribution turns north following Loch Lomond

movind an g 7 inland fro heade mth Locf so h Lon Locd gan hLocp u Fyn d h eAwean , crossin watershee gth Crianlarico dt Tyndrud e han th d pioneerind an m an y Ta e gth Earn routes to the east. Mr J. G. Scott has suggested that in their search for good agricultural ground

1 P.S.A.S., LXIII, 325. 8 P.P.S. (1951), Part I, Paper No. 2, p. 16. 3 Neolithic Cultures of the British Isles (C.U.P., 1954), 153, fig. 23. 4 Cadell, StoryM. . oH , f the Forth (1913). 5 There is a noticeable absence of chambered tombs along Loch Katrine and Loch Vennacher and in the valleTeite th f hyo probably indicatin necessite foresth proximite k gd th oa crosan te yo t watershe e th f sth y o d northe th o t . 6 P.S.A.S., LXXXIII, 230. 7 Discovery and Excavation, Scotland 1956, 15. E SECONTH STRATN I D Y MILLENNIUHTA M B.C.-A FIELD SURVE3 7 Y

FIG. 2. Clyde-Carlingford chambered cairns in Central Scotland (with the exception of Derculich) 74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1958-59 without the necessity for extensive forest clearance the Clyde-Carlingford people may have been forced int centrae oth lsouthere zonth f eo n Highlands because eth e Grearoutth p tu e Gles closen wa them o t d . They were probabl e firsth t t yno chambered tomb builders to reach Scotland and Professor Piggott has suggested that the Great Glen route to the north-east had already been pioneered by Passage Grave builders.1 r LacaillM describes eha ruin e lona th f sdgo e b whacairy t Stuckindroinnma ta

near Ardlui at the head of Loch2 Lomond and there is a similar site on the farm of Auchtertyre near Tyndrum.3 From just wes Killif o t chamberee nth d tomb builders could either folloturniny b , w or gLoc y southTa h through Glen Ogle, they could enter Strath Earn. In Strath Tay two new sites of chambered tombs have been identified. The first is below the village of Dull.4 There is little to be seen here apart from a portal entry segmentea stonee e tope th b whaf f th y s o o d ma td an chamber (PI. XIIe , i)Th . second site lies further east abov fare eth Derculich.f m o l thaAl 5t remain situe n si ar the three uprights of the polygonal chamber of a passage grave (PL XII, 2). Ther foue ear r site Stratn si h Earn between Comri jusd ean t eas Crieff o t f with an outlier in Wester Glenalmond. The most westerly site is the long cairn at Kindrochat excavated by the late Professor Gordon Child 192n ei d ig3O.9an 6 Rottenreoch,7 just wes Criefff o tn a s i , unexcavate tope dslabf th so sitt sebu formin chambega eastere th protrudd n ri nen e throug turfe hth . t Cultoquhey,A 8 between Crief d Methvenan f originae th , l Clyde-Carlingford traditio s degeneratenha d int osegmentea d cist inserted intperiphere oth a f yo mound (PI. XII, 3). The character of this mound is uncertain as it has not been examined. It is probably natural but appears to have had an artificial capping of eart smald han l stones. Pottery with characteristic finger-tip ripplin founs gwa t a d Cultoquhey warfabrie e th Th this ef har.d i co nan d wit hfina e blace kth slid pan ripplin bees gha n carried ove simplra e rolled rim. Parallels come fro habitatioo mtw n sites t Lyle'a ; s Hil northern i l n Irelan t Eastertoa d dan Roseislf no Morayshiren ei . The ware is common in the Clyde-Carlingford type tombs of northern Ireland. Wit pottere hth t Cultoquheya inhumen a s ywa d burialeaf-shapea d lan d arrowhead of flint. If there is a primary burial under the capping of the tumulus at Cultoquhey it would provide a relative time scale for the arrival of Clyde-Carlingford tomb builder areae th .n si On moorland9 behind the policies of Clathick House between Crieff and Comrie the end stone and cover-stone of a megalithic cist are exposed (PI. XIII, i). They lie on the summit of a low knoll which is natural but may have had an artificial capping of cairn material. similarite 1Th 0 y with Cultoquhe enhances yi slatald e th blen y db whic botn hi h cases projects several feet abov . side G tope th e e. f th J slabs so r M . 1 Piggott, op. cit., 374. 2 P.S.A.S., LXII, 336. 3 Nat. Grid NN/352288. 4 Nat. Grid NN/8o84go. 5 Nat. Grid NN/884527. 6 P.S.A.S., LXIV, 264-72 d LXVan , , 281-93. * P.S.A.S., LXXVII, 31.

Discoverye Se and Excavation, Scotland 1958, Scottish Bibliography. 46 , Nat. Grid NN/8I3235-

9 thir108 A d Perthshire exampl thif eo s metho givinf do gnaturaa l hilloc appearance kth caira t f a eo s ni Cairntullich (Nat. Grid NN/8745O4) between Aberfeldy and Grandtully. E SECONTH STRATN I D Y MILLENNIUHTA M B.C A FIEL- . D SURVE5 7 Y

Scot draws ha t n attentio similaa o nt r sit t Clacea h Andreis, Swordale Ardnan i , - murchan where the head-stone of an unexcavated megalithic cist, almost certainly of Clyde-Carlingford type, rises 3 ft. above the adjacent side slabs (PI. XIII, 2). All three instances may be connected with the standing stone which protrudes through

CUP-AND-RING MARKS ®

FIG. 3. Distributions of cup marks and cup and ring marks in Strath Tay the cairn material 13 ft. west of the west end of the segmented chamber in the eastern end of the chambered tomb at Kindrochat. e outlieTh n Westei r r Glenalmon e lonth gs i dcair f Clacno a Tiompaihn n excavated in I954-1 1 P.S.A.S., LXXXVIII, 112. 76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1958-59 Certain relics from central Perthshire can be associated with the arrival there of builders of chambered tombs. Two highly polished jadeite axes come from sites on the second millenniu founs m Comriwa routesn do e f On .o e ease Fard th en t t ma Loch Tay and the other was found at Ldchearnhead. Such axes occur withi generae nth l Clyde-Carlingford provinc fragmena d ean t occurred in the blocking of the portal entry of Cairnholy I.1 Professor Piggot s pointe n ha associatiota o t d n between builder f Clydeo s - Carlingford tomb Countsin y Antri stona factormeaxe and Tievebulliagh.yat Two 2 axes fro Irise mth h factory were blockine foun th forecour e n di th f go typicaa f o t l Irish Clyde-Carlingford tomb at Dunloy and an axe of typical Tievebulliagh porcellanit bees eha n foun Dunbartonshirn di e withi Scottise nth h Clyde-Carlingford province. Recently the site of an axe factory has been located on the slopes of Craig na Caillich above Killin. Here the flakes which constitute the working debris of the factor beddee yar pean dhavi d an t e become3 expose peae th ts da eroded . Amonga vast quantity of flake material a few roughed out axes have been found and also some larger blocks which show signs of primary trimming. vien I thif wo s discover t yshouli notee db d thaaxes o froe tw tm on , Glen Falloch othee th rd froan m Crieff, which have recently been sectioned, probably derive from Great Langdale. immediats it d Stratan y e hTa environ mose th sf t o carrremarkabl e yon e concentration markingp cu f o s Scotlandn i s fielA . d surve f thesyo e markings makes evident a distinction between sites which have cup-and-ring markings and sites which have cup marks only (fig. 3). Cup-and-ring markings tend to be on relatively high ground. Balmacnaughton, Brae f Taymoutho s , Urlar, Brae f Cultullicho s , Drummond Hill, Classic Far Murthld man yl site al Farm se whicar upwarde hli s

5OO-fte oth f . contour othee markp th Cu n .r so han d hav pronounceea levew dlo l 4 distribution and cluster most thickly on the flat ground which flanks the river east of the loch. And where cup-and-ring markings do occur on low-lying sites, such as Croftmoraig, Clochfoldic d Balnabegganan h e cup-and-rinth , g mark e usuallar s y restricted to only one or two examples amid a large number of single cups. Elaborate cup-and-ring markings made tenb o dt e more ofte rocn no k outcrops examplr fo s a , e Braes of Cultullich, Balmacnaughton and Drummond Hill. Cup marks occur most frequentl free-standinn yo g boulders. On the hillside east of Tombhuie Cottage and above the main group of cup-and- ring mark t Braea s f Taymouto s bouldero tw e ar hs some distance apart which

carry an unusual design of gapped circles (fig5 . 4 and PL VI).6 They bear a remark- able similarity to the designs on the kerb-stones of the chambered tomb of Knowth in Ireland (fig. 5) and their significance is best appreciated by referring to a paper

writte Eoiy nb n MacWhit ig45.n e i discussinn I g Irish Bronz roce keAg scribings 7 1 P.S.A.S., LXXXIII, 153. 2 op. cit., 174 and 288. 3 Unpublishe Discoverye se Excavation,t d dbu an Scotland 1955, . Informatio35 n kindly supplier M y db P. R. Ritchie. 4 Gillies, W. A., In Famed Breadalbane (Perth, 1938), 23-27. 6 Nat. Grid NN/7g2448. 6 Gillies, op. cit., 26. 7 J.R.S.A.L, LXXVI (1946), 59-80. STRATH TAY IN THE SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C.-A FIELD SURVEY JJ MacWhite distinguished between the art of the so-called Galician Group and Passage Grave art Irelann I . d example formee th f so r grou foune p ar l alon dal e gth

BRAE F TAYMOUTO S H

SCALE OF FEET

1958

rind an g p markeCu FIG . 4 d. boulde t Braea r Taymoutf so h coast Kerrf so y wit extension ha n into Donega secondard an l y concentratione th n so coasts of Cork, Waterford and Wicklow. MacWhite suggested that the art of the Galician Group, as the name implies, was a type of rock carving introduced into 78 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1958-59 southern Ireland from north-west Spai northerd nan n Portugal e parallelTh . e sh produces in the respective areas are convincing. Because those areas in Ireland Galiciae th wherf o t ne ar Grou founs pi alse areae dar oth s riches coppen i t d an r gold the suggestion is made by MacWhite that the people responsible for the first were exploitin secondthe g . Cup-and-ring desigmarking the par not of n t are s repertoire of Passage Grave art but are commonly found in the Galician Group. But overlapping of the two idioms must have occurred early and MacWhite inter- prets the gapped circles on the kerb-stones at Knowth as examples of Galician art Passaga n i e Grave context spitn I .f Ma eo c White's distributio f Galiciao p nma n

FIG. 5. Gapped circle designs from Knowth (after Macalister) Reproduced by kind permission of e RoyaTh l Societ Antiquarief yo Irelanf so d

Scotlann i t ar t seemdi s probable that wha broughs wa t t ove rmixtura hers ewa f eo the two traditions. There is something suspiciously like an eyebrow pattern on the second Tombhui rectilineae th d ean ston t rXIIII L same devic . (P eth 3) ,e n eo stone are typical designs of Passage Grave art. MacWhite ascribes cup-and-ring marking Scottise th o t s h Middle Bronze eAg d associatean s them wit e makerhth f fooo s d vessels n supporI . f thio t s idee h a quotes instance f short-ciso s t burials with food vessels wher cover-stonee eth s have been inscribed in the Galician Group idiom. But designs on a cover-stone are not necessarily contemporar yStratn i wit y thercoincidenco d e cisn h Ta th an ts ei e E SECONTH STRATN I D Y MILLENNIUHTA M B.C A FIEL- . D SURVE9 7 Y

FIG . Distributio6 . foof o dp vesselnma Centran si l Scotland 8o PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1958-59 betwee e distributionth f foono d vessel d tha f cup-and-rinan so t g markingse Th . latter appea havo rt e entered Strat froy wese hmTa th t alon same gth e rout thas ea t followe chamberee th y db d tomb builders. Eas Stratf o t cup-and-riny hTa g markings are sporadic and there are none of the calibre of Balmacnaughton, Urlar or Braes of Gultullich. Westward they are found at a number of sites along the north thershord an super e Locf eeo ar y hTa b example Glen si n Lochay wes Killinf o t . Food vessels look like an intrusion from the east (fig. 6). If, as MacWhite suggests, there is some connection between Galician art and prospectin r coppegfo gold an rd the distributioe nth cup-and-rinf no g marked sites in Strath Tay has significance. Copper and gold have both been mined at Tomna- dason above Ardtalnai soute th hn g o shor f Loceo h Tay. Gold occurwese th t sa end of Loch Earn and near Loch Freuchie in Glen Quaich.1 Glen Quaich lies across the watershed to the south of Loch Tay and the old route which links the two valleys passes near to the cup-and-ring marked sites of Balmacnaughton, Tombhuie and Braes of Taymouth. But if the drawing of cup-and-ring marks on rock outcrops is some sort of sympathetic magic for the location of ores2 these prospectors must have arrived in Strath Tay at the beginning of the second millennium close on the heels of the chambered tomb builders certainld an 3 y befor e Middlth e e Bronz food-vessee eAg l cultur areae th .n ei Alon shoree Morae gth th f so y Firt hnumbea flaf o r t axe coppef so bronzd an r e are typologically very early and some are decorated in the Irish style. Moreover their distribution is similar to that of open stone moulds for casting flat axes but the axes and moulds have a mutually exclusive distribution to short-necked beakers. This contemporaneity must indicat arrivae eth earlf o l y metallurgist north-easn si t Scotland soon after 2000 B.C f IrisI . h smiths were movin wake th chamberef en go i d tomb builders pioneering the route to the north-east via the Great Glen there is every reason to assume similar circumstances in the Clyde-Carlingford province of the central Highlands, the only difference being that in the north-east the flat axes were being traded to pockets of beaker makers in Aberdeenshire, Banff and Elgin wherea centran si l Perthshir absence eth beakea f eo r market restricte activitiee dth s earle oth f y metal trader prospectino st orer gfo . Further confirmation of Mac White's association between Galician art and early metal working comes from Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire^ which he regards as area primarf so y extensio Galiciar nfo Scotlandn i t nar . Straight butted flat axes of southern Irish type occur in this area and a site on Wigtown Bay yielded copper ingots in the form of unfinished flat axes near the outcropping of surface copper lodes.4 Burial monuments other than chambered tomb eithee sar r large cairn waterf so - worn stones or else earth tumuli of varying sizes. Of the former group the only

P.P.S. (1951), Part I, Paper No. 2, App. II. 21 Piggot Hendersond an t , Scotland Before History (Nelson, 1958), 61. 3 Despit gappee eth Tombuio dtw circlee th en stoneso t mighsi permissible tb lin o artistee t kth s wite hth polygonal passage grave at Derculich. After all, the two art traditions had already mingled in Ireland and buildere th Boyne th f so e tomb wely sma l have bee tycoone nearle th th f yso metal trade. 4 Stat. Ace., Paris Whithornf ho , xvi, 285 . ,286 p fig n .o . E SECONTH STRATN I D Y MILLENNIUHTA M B.C A FIEL- . D SURVEY 8l example which has been examined is in Glen Cochill near the summit of the watershed between Dunkel d Aberfeldyan d . This cair s recentlnha y been completely removed but had originally been 60 ft. in diameter with a circumference demarcated by a ring of contiguous boulders. Beyond this there had been a circle of free-standing boulders set at irregular intervals. The primary burial had consisted of a short cist covered by a massive capstone. The cist had been completely filled with fine river gravel from whic o relicn h s were recovered e cover-stonTh . d slippedha ee du to the partial collapse of one of the underlying side slabs and from the lowest

FIG. 7. Reconstructed beaker from short cist under Cam Ban in Glen Cochill, Perthshire (Drawn s AlisoMr y nb Young, F.S.A.) point of the upper edge of the cover-stone fragments of a long-necked beaker were found (fig e beakee .past th 7) Th f .e o s coarsi r d poorlan e innee y th mad rd an e s reminisceni m ri e beve food-vessef th o tf o l l ceramic e monumenTh . d beeha t n known locally as Cam Ban or The White Cairn and quantities of white quartz had been incorporated among the cairn material. Other examples of this type of burial occur (fig. 8). Near Loch Hoil the cairn standsummie th higa t a sf ho t passe cair Th t Ardtalmain.a yds0 g20 . froe mth south shore of Loch Tay has been surrounded by a peristalith like the Glen Cochill example. A third cairn, now largely destroyed but originally between 40 and 60 ft. 2 8 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , 1958-59 in diameter, lies on moorland above the farm of Margmore far up the Urlar Burn. Two examples lie outside Strath Tay but on its eastern and southern borders regardee b y same parma s th d a f e d o t groupan firste Th greaa ., n i t . cairft 0 n8 diameter ease ,th tlie Fendee n banso th f ko r Burn north-wes f Monzio t e Farn mo high plateau country above Blai edge th agriculturaf r eo n Atholo d an l l lana t da

CIST BURIALS, PROBABLY ONC [ STON I E E CAI.RNS ----- Q COVERED BY EARTH TUMULI --- Q I I STONE CAIRN, PROBABLE - - - Q |||

FIG. 8. Distribution map'of cairns and tumuli in Central Perthshire height of 1,000 ft. above sea level. The second is on high ground close to 1,600 ft. abovsouthere leveth a ese n o l n ridge which overlooks Newton Bridg Westen ei r Glenalmond. What mus cognata e tb e structure fro sizsituatios d mit e an e nth lie n so edg higf eo h moorlan fare Strathgroth f m o n do y above Aldclune. Her monue eth - E SECONTH STRATN I D Y MILLENNIUHTA M B.C A FIEL- . D SURVE3 8 Y

FIG . Distributio9 . beakef o p rnma potter Centran yi l Perthshire 4 8 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , 1958-59 ment appears to be a gigantic tumulus of earth but like two of the previous examples peristalitha s ha t i . Wit exceptioe hon l thesnal e monument hign o he li sground , abov weld ean l abov 5OO-fte eth . contour. The Glen Cochill cist yielded beaker sherds of a type not hitherto found north of the Forth and Clyde isthmus and therefore unrelated to the main Beaker province Aberdeenshire.n i 1 Long-necked beaker associatee ar s d further south with handled beakero tw f o s e beakerfroon m cisa d t san buria t Balmuica l Stratn ki h Ears nwa handled. Apart from Glen Cochill otheo n s ,r Stratha example y hTa beakef o s r pottery (fig ) despit9 . e intensive agricultural operations alon bottoe valleye gth th f mf o I . the great stone cairns contain long-necked beaker burials, if their siting has no ritual significance, then their positionin indicaty gma time e th tha ey theb t y arriven di Strath Tay the valley and the available agricultural ground in the vicinity was already occupied. A number of earth tumuli occur in both Strath Tay and Strath Earn. Unlike the great stone" cairns their distribution is markedly low level, being on or near the river banks. Unfortunately none have been properly examined. Most of them have been planted with tree amenits a s y feature severad plougheo s an s e ar l e db dowo t s na almost invisible. Large examples of 30 ft. and over occur at Farleyer, Ballechin and Clochfoldich. Smaller example srive e occuth rn rflato s below Dull where there ear three, on the south bank of the river at Cairntullich and at Lundin Farm. Beyond Strath Tay they are not found to the westward beyond the limit of the fertile lands Locf o ease d h th Tayten t t thera numeroue bu , ear s example eastware th e o st th n di Earne th d .lowe an Well-know y r reacheTa e th f nso examples occut MartinS t a r s nort Perthf ho t Almondbana , k wes Perthf o t t Maina , Fordif so e near Caputd han t Lawltoa n near Coupar Angus. Their low-level distribution suggests that they belong to an intrusive culture penetrating inland fro ease mth t coas usind d broae an tan g th y dTa valleye th f so the Earn for the 'mechanics of their expansion. Without excavation it is profitless to gues t theia s r authorshi absence th t Beakef pbu eo r burial lowee th n rsi reachef so Eare th nd suggestan y Ta s e thath t these tumulu parn i s e tburialb contemy sma - porary. The absence of beakers from eastern Perthshire is explicable only if there was already here an alien but contemporary people hailing like the Beaker people from across the North Sea. . FeacheW . indebte m R drawinr a mr fo I M distributioo e dt g th n maps, figs, 2 . 3, 6, 8 and 9 and for the presentation of the markings on fig. 4. 1 But see P.S.A.S., LXXXII, 68, and fig. 17, i and 2.