Excavation

Date June 2015

Event ID 1026723

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1026723

NR 72991 86401 Prior to excavation at Barnashaig Standing Stone, as well as other nearby monuments and features, it was postulated by Dr Gough that the standing stone was aligned with the 3rd quarter rising moon in September, which would have been observed around 1700 BC. It was suggested that a stone platform leading eastwards from a ‘pile’ of stones may have functioned as a viewing platform from which to forewarn those observing the alignment of its imminent approach. However, excavation in June 2015 revealed that the structure under question was a shieling hut. The excavation did reveal that a larger oval earthen and stone ring located immediately S of the shieling may date from the Neolithic period; the function of this feature remains elusive, though it is hypothesised it may be an early burial cairn. It was also demonstrated that two rounded glacial erratic boulders, which formed a straight line about the standing stone, had not been set as upright, earthfast orthostats. However, the two boulders, the standing stone and the larger oval earthen and stone ring do sit along a straight line, though whether this is fortuitous or a deliberate act could not be determined. Unfortunately, this physical alignment of monuments and features lies 2° from the calculated alignment required and from which the rising moon would have been observable in the Bronze Age.

Archive: National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) intended

Funder: Dr T Gough

Clare Ellis - Argyll Archaeology

(Source: DES, Volume 16)