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North Uist, Ben Langass

Cup And Ring Marked Stone (Prehistoric)(Possible), Natural Feature(S) (Period Unknown)

Site Name North Uist, Ben Langass

Classification Cup And Ring Marked Stone (Prehistoric)(Possible), Natural Feature(S) (Period Unknown)

Alternative Name(s) North Uist, Ben Langais

Canmore ID 10215

Site Number NF86NW 10

NGR NF 84598 65345

NGR Description Centred NF 8450 6537

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/10215

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Western Isles
  • Parish North Uist
  • Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
  • Former District Western Isles
  • Former County Inverness-shire

Archaeology Notes

NF86NW 10 centred 8450 6537.

(Area : NF 846 654) A group of three cup marked stone slabs lies upon the east slope of Beinn Laghass, no far from the summit. The larger pair lie one above the other, but separated towards the west by a smaller stone fixed between them, while the third slab lies close to the east at a somewhatlower level.

The group is marked on Johnson's map (J Thomson 1831) as "Baishune's Grave" (as far as can be deciphered). The two larger slabs are about 8ft long and beneath is a distinct hollow with evidence of lesser stones serving as supports at both ends.

Five yards too the east there is another group called 'Leac Alasdair', consisting of a large boulder 12ft by 12ft, at an angle of 45 degrees, presumably a natural position. Close to its south base there is a slab 7ft 8ins long with a row of thress stones at its west side, set on edge or end, and immediately to the east there is a slab 10ft long, showing a hollow beneath. There is said to be a well called Tobar Alasdair near Leac Alasdair, but doubtless the source of a small burn 20 yards to the SE represents this.

E Beveridge 1911; J Thomson 1831.

NF 8450 6537. The various stone described above are glacial erratics. The cup marks are natural weathering: the well was not located.

Visited by OS (J T T) 10 June 1965.

Activities

Field Visit (19 August 1915)

Large Slabs, Baishune's Grave and Leac Alasdair, Ben Langass.

On the north-eastern slope of Ben Langass, about ½ mile east-north-east of Langass Lodge, at an elevation of some 200 feet above sea-level, are two groups of large slabs, which, though known as Baishune's Grave and Leac Alasdair, cannot definitely be termed prehistoric monuments. The two groups lie about 6 feet apart, the former lying rather higher up the hill than the latter. On three of the stones comprising Baishune's Grave there are several small hollows, with a channel or gutter running diagonally across one of the slabs, but though these are about the usual size of cup-marks they have probably been formed by natural causes.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 19 August 1915

OS map: North Uist xl (unnoted).

Note (2 June 2019)

Date Fieldwork Started: 02/06/2019

Compiled by: ScRAP

Location Notes: The stone is located on the W edge of a mature sicta spruce plantation about 10m S of the deer fence and gate onto the moorland. It is on a gently sloping E side of the hill enclosed by trees. It lies 6m W of a large, prominent granite outcrop, thought to have been used as a possible cist or rock shelter, which has what appears to be a stone-edged hollow beneath the overhanging rock. The panel is situated about 600m NW of a chambered cairn, which would have been visible before the forest was planted, and 400m NE of a stone circle.

Panel Notes: This panel comprises 3 granite slabs lying on top of one another, with the W edges of the two lower slabs visible beneath the upper slab. The upper slab measures 2.5x1.7m and is 0.4m thick, sloping gently to the NE, and the whole assemblage of stones rises to about 0.7m above ground level. The granite has pink banding, and a wide pink quartz vein running along the E base of the upper slab. All three slabs have pointed W edges on each of which there is a sub-circular depression roughly 6-8cm diameter, and there is a further sub-circular depression on the N corner of the upper panel. These may be natural features with possible enhancement. A long groove runs from the W cup-shaped depression at an angle across the rock surface. A second groove splits from near the top of the first groove and runs vertically down the rock surface. There are also possible grooves running from the cup-shaped depressions on both of the lower slabs. The grooves may also be partly natural features that have been enhanced.

Change Of Name

Note: This site was previously mislabeled as NORTH UIST, BEN LANGLASS. This was corrected to NORTH UIST, BEN LANGASS on the 14th of September 2022.

MH 14/09/2022

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