MID ARGYLL: A FIELD SURVEY OF THE HISTORIC AND PREHISTORIC MONUMENTS by MARION CAMPBELL, F.S.A.SCOT., and MARY L. S. SANDEMAN INTRODUCTION THIS investigation bega n 195ni 4 wit attempn ha compilo t t elisa knowf o t n sites e theth nf o newl e us yinformatioe n r th homow ou r r fo en i ou d arer nan fo a formed Natural History and Antiquarian Society of Mid Argyll. We have restricted e Locar worth ou o lkt Government District, whic s boundeh i e soutth y hb n o d Kintyre (and excludes most of the village of Tarbert Lochfyne with its castle), and on the north by a line drawn from the seacoast south of Loch Melfort, along the watershe southere f Locth o o d t h en nAwe d thencan , e from Braevallich, Loch Awe, along watersheds roun heade dth Glenf so shore sth Ara eo Shirat d yd an an , of Loch Fyne just west of Dunderave Castle. r methoOu s bee dha compilo nt a ecatalogu e fro l availablmal e sourcese th : Ordnance Surve map" y 6 Lis e f Scheduleth ;o t d Guardianshidan p Monuments; the List of Ancient Monuments compiled by local informants for Argyll County Counci printed an l they db m1915n i ; published accounts; placenames r photoai , - graph locad san l information r eacFo .h recorded sitpreparee ew looseleada f sheet and index card, and visited the sites as other commitments allowed. There are still some sites to be visited, and some entries in the catalogue are still not as full as we should wish, due to visits having been made, of necessity, in unfavourable conditions. We have recorde Nationae dth l Grid positio eacf no h site located, checkey dan published data, re-measuring where this seemed desirable, noting changes since the published record recordind an , relevany gan t information available l measureAl . - ments were made with a 6-ft. steel tape and a 33-ft. surveyor's tape, as it proved impossible for two operators to handle a longer tape bn exposed sites in bad weather. A prismatic compass was used for bearings, which have not .been corrected as no deviation card is available; it should be noted that appreciable local deviation may encounteree b thin di s area. ! Wher have ew e been unabl checo et k published measurements (e.g. wher esita e is under afforestation) these are marked with an asterisk in the catalogue. r investigationOu s wil continuede lb presene Th . t catalogu bees eha n closet da 3Oth September 1963 except for points of detail. Future finds will be reported in Discovery and Excavation as they are made. catalogue Th arranges ei accordancn di e with dateable sites elsewhere, without excavation except where stated; we offer it merely as a field guide and not as a final classification. Distribution maps (figs. 2-6preseny )ma misleadina t g picture; some areas which appear to be blank are either afforested and difficult to investigate, or 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1961-62 hav o rangr limitt s beee eou th d no f nt esan o a closely searched grapA . heightf ho s (fig. i) offers some guidanc likele th yo et distributio thesn ni e areas indicated an , s that sites are unlikely to occur over the looo-ft. contour in this area. The Appendix lists stray finds and excavated objects, and is cross-indexed with the catalogue. We must acknowledge most gratefully the help and encouragement received from many experts and from the following bodies: Argyll County Council (especially for access to unpublished material collected for the 1915 List); the Conservator, officers and employees of the Forestry Com- mission; Glasgow University Extra-Mural Department and their Tutor for Argyll, . CregeenR . E r M , M.A., F.S.A.SCOT Inspectoe th .; Ancienf ro t Monument Scotlandf so ; Ordnance th e Surve theid yan r Archaeology Officer r mapsfo , , acces Originao t s l Namebook mucd san h other help Royae th ; l Commissio Ancienn no Historid an t c Monument f Scotlando s e Curatorth ; Nationae stafd th f san o f l Museu Anti-f mo ~ quities of Scotland, the Glasgow Museums and Art Gallery, and Fort William Museum fellow-memberr ou d Argyld an ; Mi e l th Society f so r individuaOu . l infor- mano mantto nameo e yt sar t withou bu , t much local guidanc coule ew d never have carried through our investigations. SocietyThe indebtedis Councilthe to Britishfor Archaeology for a grant towards the expense of publishing this paper. I 2. 3-4-5 6 7 89 IONG CAIRNS STANDING STOHES ROUND CAIRNS SHOST CISTS CUMARKS & FORTS EARLY CHRISTIAN SITES »k CASTLES CONTROL (GROWS D) (GROUPS D) CUP-HflNGS; MEDIAEVAL CHIUSTIAII SITES ^ GBOUP-PtESENT BOULDERS A -DAY POST Of FICiS ROCK SHEETS h. OTHERS • FIG. I. Diagram showing distribution of monuments by height above sea level ORDE CATALOGUF RO E Page Shell Mounds 6 6 Cave rock-shelterd san s Chambered and unopened long cairns 8 Round cairns and bank-and-ditch graves 11 Short cists without apparent cairns 19 Recorded cairns and cists not traced (including placenames) 22 3 2 Standing Stones Cupmarks and cup-and-ring marks 29 Markings simila abovo t r t doubtfullebu 5 3 y artificial Other carvings 36 Prehistoric working sites 38 Forts (including Duns and defended settlements) 39 Sites checked for Forts 60 Crannogs 6i 2 6 Long cistsmald san l cairns Early Christian (pre-twelfth century3 6 ) sitestoned san s 5 7 Medieval Christian sites Wells 82 Castles 86 Court hills and meeting-places 89 Sites with historic traditions 91 Some post-Reformation buildings of interest 95 Hut-circle housd san e ruins (classificatio examplesd 8 nan 9 ) Mines 101 Millston quernstond ean e quarries 101 Rock-cut basins 102 Distribution Maps 106 Appendix: Tabl Findf eo s 111 BIBLIOGRAPH ABBREVIATIOND YAN S ACC List of the Monuments of Argyll: Argyll County Council, 1915 ACC(u) Unpublished material collecte above th r edfo Adomnan Adomnan's . AndersonO . M d lifean , Nelson . Columba:oO St f . A . , 196ed 1 AMG Ancient Monuments, Vol. VI : Scotland. HMSO, 1959 AM.Sch.L. List f Scheduledo Guardianshipd an Monuments Argyll:n i Ministr f Worksyo , Arch, Scot. Archaeologia Scotica; 6 vols., 1782-1900: Soc. Ant. Scot. Brown Memorials of Argyleshire: A. Brown, Greenock, 1889 Craignish Tales Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition, I: Argyleshire Series (ed. Lord Archd. Campbell), London 1891 Currie A description of the antiquities and scenery of the parish of North Knapdale, Argyllshire: Archd. Currie, Glasgow, 1830 Dean of L. Scottish Verse from the Book of the Dean of Lismore; ed. W. J. Watson: Oliver and Boyd for Scottish Gaelic Texts Society; 1937 Drummond Sculptured Stones f lonathed o an West Highlands; . J Drummon d (ed. post- humously): Soc. Ant. Scot., 1 88 1 ECM The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland: J. Romilly Alien, FSA, HON.FSA. SCOT.; Neill and Co. for Soc. Ant. Scot., 1903 Haldane Drove Roads of . HaldaneScotland:B . R . A , Nelson, 1952 Henderson Survival in belief among the Celts : G. Henderson, Glasgow, 1911 H.Prs.II Highland Papers, Vol. II: Scottish History Soc., 1916 Leitch Ardrishaig s Vicinity:it d an Colin Leitch, M.A., Govan, 1904 MacF MacFarlane's Geographical Collections, Vol. II : Scottish History Society, 1907 MacG & R Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland: D. MacGibbon and T. Ross (5 vols.), Edinburgh 1887-92 Mad Inveraray, Its Scenery and Associations : Peter Maclntyre, Glasgow, 1 909 Misc. IV Fourth Miscellany Scottishe th f o History Society, 1926 Mitchell History of the Highlands and Gaelic Scotland: Dugald Mitchell, Paisley, 1900 ONB Original Namebooks (MSS), Ordnance Survey archives (by parishes) Orig.Par Origines Parochiales Scotiae : Bannatyne Club, 1 854 OS Ordnance Survey 6-inc sheetp hma s ofA. R. Records of Argyll: Lord Archibald Campbell, Edinburgh, 1885 Reg. Pass. Registerium MonasUrii de Passelet: ed. C. Innes, Maitland Club, 1832 Sc. Cas. The Scottish Castle: . CrudenH . S , Nelson, 1960 SECT Scotland in Early Christian Times: Dr J. Anderson, Edinburgh, ' 1 88 1 Ace.\stSt. First Statistical Accoun f Scotlano t d (1793). (Parishes of — Craignish, , 436VI : Glassary, XIII, 653: Inveraray , 287V , : Kilcalmoneld an l Kilberry : Kilmartin53 , X , . ,Knapdale N VIII : 90 , 255. VI ,S : Knapdale, XIX, 308) 2nd St. Ace. Second Statistical Accoun Scotlanf o t d (1846), Vol. VII. Stuart Sculptured Stones of Scotland: Dr John Stuart, (Old) Spalding Club, 1856, 1867 (2 vols.) Syn. Recs. Records of the Synod of Argyll, 1639-61, 2 vols. : Scottish History Society, 194 d 1943an 4 MID ARGYLL ARCHAEOLOGICAN A : 5 L SURVEY T.P.S. Tarbert Picturen i Story:d . Mitchellan D , Falkirk, 1908 White Archaeological Sketches, Vol. II, Knapdale: T. P. White, Captain, R.E., Blackwood, 1875 Periodicals Antiq Antiquity (quarterly) E & D Discovery Excavation,d an Scotland (annual) PPS Proceedings Prehistoricthe of Society PRIBA Proceedings Royalthe of Inst. of British Architects PS AS Proceedings Societythe Antiquariesof of Scotlandof TDGAS Trans.Dumfriesthe Gallowayof and Arch. Soc. TGAS Trans. of the Glasgow Antiquarian Soc. (new series) Other abbreviations symbolsand used textin FC Forestry Commission FWM Fort William Museum, Inverness-shire NMA National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, Edinburgh f scheduled monument guardianship monument * measurements taken from published account § measurements p takema nS froO " m6 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , igGl-62 _c . i in 8 m £'«-§ to Q ^H U „ a si w-s i 1 ' r r s 4 . cl an a e 1 y § Tj- 2 d < o s ' murd b t U 82 ci f H g , d (Se TB ditche .