Archaeology Notes

Event ID 697372

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/697372

NS02NE 4 0586 2972.

(NS 0586 2972) St Molio's Cave (NR)

OS 6" map, (1924)

St Molaise's Cave was excavated by Balfour in 1908. It is 38 1/2ft long by 13ft at its widest, near the foot of the stone stair leading to it. It is paved from the middle to the NE corner. A large stone, 5ft 11ins x 1ft 8 ins x 1ft 8ins is set in the paving. at the SW end, when 3ft of soil and loose stones had been removed, a shell-midden and animal bones were found. They had slipped down over a hearth. A dry-stone wall, 5ft 3ins thick is at the S end of the cave; a similar wall, fallen almost completely into the cell, ran from the stair to the N end. Probably this was originally 8-10ft high. The roof and sides of the cave are covered with many marks and crosses, also 11th-13th century Runic inscriptions. The saint's name is usually written Molaise, an archaic genitive, but sometimes Moloise, the modern genitive, or Molios, which is the result of a confusion (Balfour 1910), Molaise is a reduced form of Laisren with "mo" (my) prefixed.

He died in 639 (Mackenzie 1914).

J Balfour 1909; 1910; D Wilson 1863; W M Mackenzie 1914.