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Dunkeld, The Hermitage, Ossian's Cave
Folly (18th Century)
Site Name Dunkeld, The Hermitage, Ossian's Cave
Classification Folly (18th Century)
Canmore ID 227542
Site Number NO04SW 182
NGR NO 00519 41604
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/227542
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Little Dunkeld
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NO04SW 182 00519 41604
Ossian's Cave [NAT]
OS (GIS) MasterMap, June 2010.
Field Visit (1999 - 2000)
Ossian’s cave is an enhanced natural feature, employing several large boulders to form part of the cave. These have been joined with undressed stone to form the roof and sides of a ‘cave’, with two small, irregular windows and a round headed doorway. The corbelled roof is made up of stones, set on edge and mortared into place. It is only one stone in thickness. To the left of the doorway, inside the cave, is a low stone seat, c.1.5m in length, 0.3m from the ground. The whole structure is only part mortared together, making its overall condition somewhat precarious. Steps have been taken to revegetate the top in recent years.
The dates of the cave and stone seat, below, are not exactly known. Estate records suggest that the cave was possibly built in 1755, before Ossian’s Hall, however, there are no visitors’ accounts until 1776 (ibid. 25), suggesting that the earlier structures are different. Originally, within the cave there was an inscription, purported to be an Ossianic poem. This no longer survives.
(HER99 09)
Information from NTS (SCS) June 2015
