Boreray, Cladh Manach

Cross-marked Slab and Cup-marked Rock, Cladh Manach, Boreray.

In an ancient burying ground on the summit of a small hill at A'Yeoie, near the south-east corner of the island of Boreray, is a small, rough slab almost entirely buried, on which a simple Latin cross, measuring 7 ½ inches in length and 3 ½ inches across the arms, is incised.

About 50 yards to the west, on a small rocky outcrop, is an oval hollow measuring about 17 inches in length and 11 inches in width at the lip, and about 6 inches in depth at the deepest part, which is in the western half.

A few yards to the north-west of this hollow is another small outcrop of rock just appearing above ground, on which four cup-marks a recut; the largest is about 5 ½ inches in diameter and 3 ¼ inches deep and the smallest 3 inches in diameter and 5/8 inch deep.

RCAHSM 1928, visited 11 August 1915

OS map: North Uist xxvi (unnoted).

This island is situated in the Sound of Harris, about 4km W of Berneray and 1.5km NE of Aird a' Mhorain. It measures about 2.2km from N to S by 1.6km, and is divided into two unequal parts by the Loch Mor, which on the W is separated from the Atlantic only by a narrow strip of storm-beach. Although now deserted, the island formerly maintained a considerable population and there are a number of house ruins with associated steadings and corn-drying kilns, mainly on the E coast and to the NE of the loch. A chambered cairn, Na Cailleacha Dubha ('the black hags'), is situated on the slope above the N end of the sandy beach that runs along much of the E coast and forms the main landing-area. Part of the beach is backed by high sand-dunes, and at the S end these have produced remains of structures as well as midden-material, pottery and bronze pins, some of them of early medieval types (i).

On the E slope of a low (23m) grassy summit at the SE corner of the island there is the traditional site of a burial-ground known as Cladh Manach ('the monks' burial-place'). According to Martin, 'all the Monks that dyed in the Islands that lye Northward from Egg, were buried in this little Plot, each grave hath a Stone at both ends' (ii). Until the early 20th century the site was marked by an uncultivated area in arable ground (iii), but there are no remains except for the cross-marked stone described below. A few clearance-cairns are visible to the W of the site, and a slab bearing five or six cup-marks lies about 80m to the WNW (iv).

The cross-marked stone is an irregular earthfast slab measuring 0.44m in visible height by 0.72m in width and 0.12m in thickness. On the W face there is a much-worn sunken cross, 200mm high and having at mid-height a transom 100mm in span. The terminals are expanded and may originally have been barred.

(i) NMRS database NF88SE, nos.1 and 5.

(ii) M Martin 1934, 68.

(iii) E Beveridge 1911, 301. It was recorded in 1877 that the greater part of the disused burial-ground was under cultivation, and that there were two gravemarkers with crosses (Name Book, Inverness-shire (Hebrides), No.6, p.6).

(iv) J D Lyford-Pike 1941, 128, fig.2 on p.130.

RCAHMS 1928, No.168.

I Fisher 2001, 112.

NF 8578 8050 and NF 85560 80489 (NF88SE 3) Intrigued by the statement in Martin Martin’s ‘Description of the Western Isles of Scotland’ that the Cladh Manach burial ground on Boreray, was where all the monks N of Eigg were buried, and wanting to inspect the cross-marked stone slab illustrated in Ian Fisher’s ‘Early Medieval Sculpture in the West Highlands and Islands’, I set off from Berneray in my sea kayak to visit the island in early September 2015.

I had assumed the island was unoccupied but approaching the island noticed someone walking on the beach with a dog and it turned out to be Jerry Cox who lives in the old school house. After explaining my purpose, he took me to a cross-marked rock on the foreshore at a’ Gheodha (NF 8578 8050), which does not feature in ‘Early Medieval Sculpture’ and is not included in CANMORE or the Western Isles Council SMR.

The linear cross is 180mm high and 150mm across with the lower limb slightly longer than the upper and is incised on the N-facing slope of bedrock. The weathered foliations in the hard gneiss exposed by the cross incision and comparanda illustrated in ‘Early Medieval Sculpture’ suggests that it could be early in date and perhaps marked the landing place for the Cladh Manach burial ground.

There is also a nearby inscription, also unrecorded, giving the names of individuals from Boreray and Uist dated 1871. Inscribed on an exposed quartzite band, it contrasts with the darker rock and deeper incision of the cross. Other isolated graffiti on rocks in the vicinity also seem to be personal names and initials dating from the same time. Further examination of the rock in September of this year, when the surface was wet with rain, revealed a shallow

incised ‘J’ with a curled tail of similar overall dimensions to the cross and less than a metre to its left. It can just be seen and probably dates from when the personal names and initials were carved.

Despite having copies of an extract from the 1st Edition OS map and page 112 of ‘Early Medieval Sculpture’ that gives details of the Cladh Manach cross-incised slab with me, it proved impossible to find even using GPS. After providing Jerry with a 1999 vertical aerial photograph that appears to show the slightly raised extent of the burial ground and a copy of a RCAHMS survey sheet that includes a photograph and sketches of the cross-incised slab and the nearby cupmarked rock drawn by Ian Scott in 1988, he was able to locate it at NF 85601 80489, c24m ESE of that given by ‘Early Medieval Sculpture’ and Canmore.

Bill Stephens

(Source: DES, Volume 17)