Islay Cottage
Mound (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Islay Cottage
Classification Mound (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 23621
Site Number NN10SW 2
NGR NN 1080 0095
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/23621
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Strachur
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Argyll And Bute
- Former County Argyll
NN10SW 2 1080 0095.
NN 1080 0096. Motte? (Refers to an undescribed mound published on OS 6" map, Argyllshire, 2nd ed., 1870)
Information from J G Scott, Glasgow Museum to OS, 21 May 1973.
A truncated mound situated on the edge of a high and precipitous river bank above a gorge. Surrounding the mound on its landward side is a mutilated superficial ditch averaging 10.0m in width. The mound has an overall diameter of 25.0m N-S and 35.0m E-W. Its height varies from 3.5m on the N side to 2.0m on the SE with a flattened summit 11.5m in diameter. The mound is now tree-clad, but was probably a motte which has since been landscaped. There is some stone revetting around its base which is probably contemporary with the landscaping, but a mutilated ? causeway within the ditch on the SW may be an original feature of the motte.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (E G W) 18 June 1973.
Field Visit (5 April 1984)
NN10SW 2 1080 0095.
A glacial mound surrounded by a plantation bank. On the top of the mound there are the footings of what may be a rectangular building, and on the flanks a number of stones protrude through the turf possibly suggesting an enclosure wall. The ditch mentioned by Scott is largely natural, except on the SW where there is a man-made hollow, but this may be a quarry-scoop for the plantation bank. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that this is a motte.
Visited by RCAHMS (JBS) 5 April 1984.
