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Gigha, Ardlamey
Cairn (Bronze Age), Cist (Bronze Age)
Site Name Gigha, Ardlamey
Classification Cairn (Bronze Age), Cist (Bronze Age)
Canmore ID 38524
Site Number NR64NW 15
NGR NR 6309 4825
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/38524
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Gigha And Cara
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Argyll And Bute
- Former County Argyll
Field Visit (September 1967)
Cairn, Ardlamey, Gigha.
This cairn (Fig. 19) is situated at a height of some 10 m O.D. on a heather covered rock-ridge just under 800 m SW. of Ardlamey farmhouse. Approximately circular on plan, it has a mean diameter of 14 m and stands to a maximum height of 1.1 m. It has been severely robbed of its stone, presumably in order to build the nearby field-dyke, but four kerb-stones are still visible in situ. A side slab and an end slab of a central cist, aligned NNE. and SSW., are in their original positions and the second side-slab now leans slightly inwards. Before planning, this cist was excavated by one of the Commission's officers and the position from which the missing end-slab had been taken was found to be clearly visible (1). There was no trace of the stone or stones which had formed the cover of the cist.
The slabs which remain in situ on the N. and E. both measure 2.03 m in length, 0.18 m in thickness, and 1.04 m and 1.25 m in height respectively. The W. slab, which has tilted inwards, measures 1.75 m in length, 1.07 m in height and between 0.1 m and 0.15m in thickness. Excavation revealed the packing boulders that had been behind the S. slab and indicated that the cist had measured about 1.8 m by 1.2 m internally. The E. and W. stones were based on the natural rock, but the N. slab rested on a layer of sand and gravel about 0.3 m in thickness which filled the irregularities of the bed-rock floor. In this filing there were quantities of pebbles and flakes of white quartz, which would appear to have been deliberately introduced since a number of quartz chips were also found between the backing-stones of the missing slab. Four tiny fragments of cremated bone were discovered in the upper part of the filing, but there were no other finds of any kind. The cist is unusually large for a Bronze Age cist, but for a possible analogy see No. 84 [NR62NE 6].
RCAHMS 1971, visited September 1967.
630482 ccxxxiv NE (unnoted)
(1) The Commissioners are indebted to Mr. Robert Blackwood, Ardlamey, for permission to undertake this work.
Field Visit (18 January 1978)
NR64NW 15 6309 4825
The cairn is as described and planned by RCAHMS.
Surveyed at 1:10 000.
Visited by OS (J B) 18 January 1978.
