Field Visit
Date 10 November 1976
Event ID 589731
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/589731
"The Cauldron" (name confirmed) is a near-circular enclosure situated at the foot of an east-facing cliff and enclosed within the main cashel wall of the settlement of St Blanes. It measures 10.0m NE-SW by 9.3m transversely within a double-faced wall 2.5m thick and standing to a maximum height of 1.8m. The entrance, in the SE, narrows from 2.5, wide on the outside to 1.6m wide, and shows no evidence of a door check. The wall at this point is splayed to 3.0m.
The origin and use of "the Cauldron" is conjectural; however its position at the foot of a near vertical 70ft high rock face suggests that it is not a defensive work such as a dun or "ring fort" and its wall thickness in relation to the internal diameter precludes its classification as a broch. It seems likely to be an occupational structure contemporary with the monastic establishment (NS05SE 5).
Surveyed at 1:10 000.
Visited by OS (BS) 10 November 1976
