Archaeology Notes

Event ID 797798

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/797798

NM22SE 101 28643 24243

NM 2865 2425 A watching brief was maintained during refurbishments made to 19th-century Arnish House, in the spring and summer of 1999. Excavation of the solum, the outside drainage channels and septic tank space recovered some archaeological features: several padstones and three drainage features from within the building, and a possible drain feature running across the road in front of the house.

During the renovations, a trapezoidal stone of greenish-grey chlorite schist, 22.5 x 11cm, with a 'trefoil' leaf pattern carved into one surface was discovered lying loose in one of the upper rooms. It appears that part of one original edge is intact, showing that the fragment is the outer part of a highly decorated stone. The carving is deeply incised, each leaf having a slightly dished surface, enhancing the three-dimensional effect. It has been identified as part of a 14th to 15th-century grave slab of the Iona school. It may have been part of a group with gabled ends and, interestingly, does not have a border usually associated with this style of stone carving. The stone is typical of the date and type of carving, having probably been imported from the quarries at Doide, on the eastern shores of Loch Sween.

Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland

D Hind 1999