Tag: Campbeltown

Killarow, Kilchenzie, Argyll

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Cist:  OS Grid Reference – NR 6625 2818

Archaeology & History

Halfway between the standing stone of Tangy Glen and the cup-marked stone of Allt a’ Ghoirtein, is a rounded hill that has for a long time been turned to farming.  On top of here in the 1950s, the President of the Kintyre Antiquarian Society, a Mr Duncan Colville, came across the remains of an ancient burial cist, roughly 200 yards north of Killarow Farm.  A short account of the find was written by Mr & Mrs Scott (1957) based on Colville’s description. They wrote:

“The cist, 3ft 8in long by 1 ft 11in wide at maximum, and about 2ft deep, had a stone-lined bottom and was covered by a slab originally 5ft 6in by 3ft in size, but now split into two.  The cover slab lay not far below the surface, and there was no sign of a cairn.  The cist had obviously been rifled, for a layer of clay at the bottom contained fragments of coal and modern glass; on the other hand, a few pieces of cremated bone may have been part of the original burial.”

When the Royal Commission (1971) dudes visited the site a few years later, they could find no remains of it.  The cist is believed to have been covered over and remains hidden underground.

References:

  1. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Argyll – volume 1: Kintyre, HMSO: Edinburgh 1971.
  2. Scott, Mr & Mrs J.G., “Argyllshire: Killarow, Kintyre” in Discovery & Excavation Scotland, 1957.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

The Bastard, Campbeltown, Argyll

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Hillfort / Dun:  OS Grid Reference – NR 7612 1220

Also Known as:

  1. Canmore ID 38722
  2. Dun Bastard

Getting Here

The Bastard on 1869 map
The Bastard on 1869 map

Pretty easy.  From Campbeltown, follow the coastal round south for about 8 miles, past the TV masts on the skyline and the hamlet of Feochaig, where you’ll see the large rounded hill on your left near the coast: that’s The Bastard!  Go onto the hill’s eastern sides and drop down the steep slope towards the large bend in the burn where its remains are on a ridge close to the cliffs overlooking the sea.  The ruins are pretty faint but if you scout around, you’ll find it.

Archaeology & History

I couldn’t believe it when I found this one – so had to get the notes to the site and add what I could find!  When the fellas from the Scottish Royal Commission checked the place in 1960, they described,

“On a narrow shelf halfway down the east flank of the hill named The Bastard there are the remains of a dun…  Oval in plan, the dun measures about 15m by 12m internally and is entered from the east, where a stretch of the outer face is visible. Here the wall is 4m thick on either side of a straight passageway, 0.9m wide, which exhibits no trace of door-checks.”

The Bastard (RCAHMS 1971)

There are other remains a few yards to the southeast of the main structure which are thought to be “remains of an outer wall…about 1.2m in thickness, which has been drawn across the shelf to provide additional protection for the entrance”, more probably from the weather conditions than invasive incoming humans.

To the immediate north we have a mythic-sounding Giant’s Seat (just above the natural arch) and west is the abode of the fairy folk – but I aint checked out the tales behind them yet.

References:

  1. Royal Commission Ancient & Historic Monuments, Scotland, Argyll – Volume 1: Kintyre, HMSO 1971.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian