Tag: Muasdale

Druim An Rathaid, Glenbarr, Kintyre, Argyll

cartomancer

Cairn:  OS Grid References – NR 66926 38320

Also Known as:

  1. Glencreggan Cairn

Archaeology & History

First described in the Object Name Book* of 1867 as being “the remains of a cairn in which D MacMillan of Glenbarr says a cist was found”, this prehistoric tomb was subsequently going to be destroyed in the 1950s by the farmer when local researchers Mr & Mrs J.G. Scott (1958) took to checking the place out before its demise.  And it was a damn good job they did!  The cairn still remains to this day—albeit in a very dilapidated state.  The assistant editor of The Prehistoric Society journal, Ian Longworth (1959), wrote an account of the findings, telling:

“A small mound, apparently the remains of a cairn, was excavated on the farm of Glencreggan by Mr and Mrs J.G. Scott.  The mound was roughly oval in shape, about 20 feet by 14 feet in size, and about 2 feet in height, with its longer axis lying almost E-W.  A large stone slab, about 8 by 3 feet in size, lay against its N corner.

“The cairn was found to consist of a small and fairly compact core of stones intermixed with sand and clay, surrounded by a rather ill-defined outer ring of boulders, the intervening space being largely filled with earth.  Remains of a cremated burial were found beneath the centre core, but there was no trace of a cist, and the bones seemed to be scattered, giving the impression that the cairn might mark the spot where the cremation took place.  Apart from a flint flake, the only finds were two small boulders, each bearing a single cup-mark, which were incorporated in the material of the centre core.”

Of the two cup-marked stones found beneath the cairn, they’re presently living in some box somewhere in the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow, who are very approachable when it comes to viewing them if you make an appointment.  I have to say though, one of them may be natural, as it has the distinct look of being the creation of molluscs, who live in profuse numbers just off the coast hereby.  Nonetheless, they were left in the tomb as offerings to the ancestral spirits here. 

References:

  1. Bede, Cuthbert, Glencreggan – 2 volumes, Longman Green: London 1861.
  2. Longworth, Ian, “Notes on Excavations in the British Isles, 1958,” in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, volume 25, 1959.
  3. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Argyll – volume 1: Kintyre, HMSO: Edinburgh 1971.
  4. Scott, Mr & Mrs J.G., “Argyllshire: Glencreggan, Glenbarr, Kintyre,” in Discovery & Excavation, Scotland, 1958.
* The Object Name Book website recently got “upgraded”, to make it better, smilier, user-friendly, and the usual buzzwords we all hear when things are just gonna get worse.  The website is now a real pain-in-the-arse to use since those halfwit management-types upgraded the site, making it much more hard work to find anything.  Fucking idiots! Who pays these morons?!

© Ian Carr, The Northern Antiquarian