Field Visit
Date May 1961
Event ID 1112935
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1112935
Cist and Standing Stones, Ballochroy.
In a level field 400 m NE. of Ballochroy farmhouse, and at a height of a little over 30 m O.D., there is a remarkable group of monuments consisting of a stone cist and three standing stones (Pl. 10A, B), all situated in a straight line running approximately NE. and SW.
The cist lies at the SW. end of the alignment and is constructed of five slabs, four of which form the sides and ends while the fifth is a massive cap-stone measuring 2.1 m by 1.5 m and 0.3 m in thickness. The internal dimensions are 1.7 m in length by 0.8 m in average breadth and about 0.6 m in depth; the longer axis is aligned NE. and SW. Much of the cist is visible above the surface of the field, the top of the cap-stone being 0.9 m above ground level. That the cist was formerly covered by a large cairn is evident from a sketch of the site made at the end of the 17th century (Lhuyd, pl. v(a)) and from former place-names (Colville 1930, 302 f), but no certain cairn-material is visible at the present time.
The most southerly of the three standing stones is situated 36.5 m NE. of the cist. It measures 0.6 m by 0.6 m at the base and rises fairly evenly to a height of 2.4 m before tapering to a pointed top at a maximum height of 3.4 m. The centre stone stands 3 m to the NE. and is 3 m high; it is a thin slab measuring 1.5 m by 0.3 m at ground level, with the longer axis aligned NW. and SE. The top slopes down steeply towards the NW. The NE. stone, which stands 2 m further to the NE., appears to have been broken off at the top. It measures 0.9 m by 0.3 m at the base and rises with a slight taper to a height of 2 m.
The fact that the cist is situated in close proximity to the standing stones, and on the same alignment, is hardly likely to be fortuitous, and it is possible that all four monuments are contemporary. For a possible analogy see No. 42 (Cairn, Machrihanish, NR62SW 2).
RCAHMS 1971, visited May 1961.
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