Iona, Iomaire Tochair
Causeway (Period Unassigned), Dam (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Iona, Iomaire Tochair
Classification Causeway (Period Unassigned), Dam (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 21665
Site Number NM22SE 6
NGR NM 28416 24729
NGR Description Centred NM 28416 24729
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/21665
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Kilfinichen And Kilvickeon
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Argyll And Bute
- Former County Argyll
NM22SE 6 Centred on NM 28416 24729.
(NM 284 247) Site of (NAT) Lochan Mor (NR)
(NM 284 247) Iomaire Tochaire (NAT) Site of (NAT) Terrace (NR)
(NM 2847 2464) Corn Mill (NR) (Site of)
OS 25" map (1900)
Lochan Mor was a small sheet of water which is now drained. "Iomaire an Tachair" - "Ridge of the Causeway" - is a dam to serve the mill, the remains of which were extant in the late 18th century, as were traces of a sluice. The dam takes the form of a broad, flat, rocky causeway, closely resembling a Roman road both in structure and dimension, and it may have been used as a road, but leads only to the moorland. There is no indication of its age, but since the lochan was known as the "Abbot's Fish-pond" (Name Book 1878) a medieval context seems probable.
The ruins of a granary and the foundations of a kiln could be traced north of the stream between the point of issue from the lochan and the road in 1875.
W F Skene 1876; O G S Crawford 1933
The mill dam extends from NM 2833 2478 to NM 2851 2465. It is a large barrier 11.0m wide and c. 1.5m high, composed of earth and water-worn boulders. Near the SE end are the footings of a building but there is no evidence that this was a granary. There is a ruined kiln at NM 2856 2466 (this is probably a duplicate of NM22SE 20).
Resurveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (JP) 8 June 1972
Site recorded by AOC (Scotland) Ltd during an archaeological survey of the lands controlled by the National Trust for Scotland on Iona. This survey was conducted in late May and early April of 1996. The full report of this survey has been deposited with both the local SMR and the NMRS.
NM 2843 2471 Causeway
Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland
T Rees 1996
Measured Survey (8 June 1972)
The mill dam extends from NM 2833 2478 to NM 2851 2465. It is a large barrier 11.0m wide and c. 1.5m high, composed of earth and water-worn boulders. Near the SE end are the footings of a building but there is no evidence that this was a granary. There is a ruined kiln at NM 2856 2466 (this is probably a duplicate of NM22SE 20).
Resurveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (JP) 8 June 1972
Field Visit (April 1996 - May 1996)
Site recorded by AOC (Scotland) Ltd during an archaeological survey of the lands controlled by the National Trust for Scotland on Iona. This survey was conducted in late May and early April of 1996. The full report of this survey has been deposited with both the local SMR and the NMRS.
NM 2843 2471 Causeway
Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland
T Rees 1996
Field Visit (April 1996 - May 1996)
This dam extends from NM 2833 2478 to NM 2851 2465. It forms a large barrier, 11.0m wide and c.1.5m high, composed of earth and water-worn boulders. A deep drain runs parallel to the immediate east of the dam and a cross drain cuts through the north-west end of the monument while the south-east end is truncated by a track and drain. The upper surface of the dam has been affected by the dumping of material removed from the drainage ditch. The monument is greatly reduced in scale to the north-west of the cross drain and continues as a trackway for 20.0m in the next field.
The drainage ditches are thought to have been dug by John MacArthur in the late 1840s or early 1850s.
Lochan Mor (also known as Abbot's Fish-pond) was a small sheet of water which is now drained. The dam served the mill, the remains of which were extant in to the late 18th century, as were traces of a sluice.
(ION96 021)
Information from NTS (SCS) January 2016
External Reference (28 October 2011)
Scheduled as element within 'The monument known as St Mary's Abbey, Iona, monastic settlement [comprising] the remains of the large early historic monastic settlement founded by St Columba in AD 563, St Martin's Cross, and parts of medieval buildings associated with the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary founded around AD 1200.'
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 28 October 2011.
