Ardnacross 2, Kintyre

NR72NE 6 7680 2598

(NR 7684 2598) (information from D Colville 1960) Chambered Cairn. This cairn, some 340m SSE of Ardnacross farmhouse, is situated at a height of about 13m OD on the edge of an arable field and within 75m of the shore. It appears as a grass-grown stony mound, measuring about 24.5m in length by 17m in breadth, which stands to a maximum height of 1.5m. At the NE end the tops of five upright slabs of the burial-chamber can be seen protruding through the cairn material, and it is possible that a large flat slab, lying of the surface of the cairn further to the NE, is a displaced roofing slab. Excavation, which began in 1967, is still in progress and the following description is based on the interim reports and on additional information supplied to the Commission in advance of publication.

The chamber, now roofless, was aligned NE and SW and measured about 4.3m in length by 1.2m in width; the entrance was defined by two portal-stones, 0.81m and 0.76m in height respectively, with a threshold stone between them. The chamber was divided by transverse slabs into three parts, comprising a short passage or porch at the entrance and two burial-compartments. The E side of the chamber was preserved intact; it consisted of two massive overlapping slabs, measuring up to 1.12m in height, and one smaller slab which formed the side of the porch. The W side of the chamber presumably had a similar complement of slabs; the innermost of these side slabs, however, and also the end slab of the chamber were missing, but the slot in which the latter had rested was clearly visible.

Examination of the area immediately outside the entrance revealed a forecourt defined by a concave facade of dry-stone walling. The NW wing of the facade was almost completely uncovered and was found to extend in a shallow curve from the N portal-stone for a distance of about 8m; a similar wing is known to exist on the opposite side but has not yet been fully explored. The entrance had been neatly sealed with dry-stone walling and the original forecourt blocking appeared to survive intact. A small quantity of cremated bone discovered in the rear compartment together with vessels of Beacharra ware, including a lugged bowl and at least one plain cup, afford the only surviving evidence of Neolithic burials. A Food Vessel of Irish Bowl type, found in the rear compartment by the edge of an area of secondary paving, indicates a re-use of the chamber during the Bronze Age.

Excavation by the Scotts, who first reported this long cairn (Henshall 1972) in 1958, continued from 1969 to 1976. The most important result was the identification of a Bronze Age round cairn about 70ft in diameter with a rough but massive kerb overlying the chambered cairn. The chambered cairn was proved to be trapezoid in plan and is thought to have measured about 80ft in length although the rear could not be located. Edges of dry-stone walling were identified on both sides. Excavation in the forecourt revealed a paved hollow, and charcoal and reddened earth suggested the collapse of a wooden turf-roofed superstructure at the north end. The relationship of this to the cairn remains uncertain.

Mr and Mrs J G Scott 1958; 1971; 1972; 1973; 1974; 1975; 1976; RCAHMS 1971, visited 1969; A S Henshall 1972, visited 1962.

The chambered cairn is as described and illustrated by the previous authorities. The forecourt facade is not visible at present and the chamber is filled with rubble. The relative position of the Bronze Age cairn to the chambered cairn could not be determined exactly from the remains. Seasonal excavations are still in progress.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (JB) 17 November 1977.

In 1977-9, excavation was continued of the structure built in the deep natural gully fronting the outer edge of the forecourt of the chambered cairn. Stretches of the N and S walls were located, consisting of massive blocks and slabs backed against the natural rock of the gully, with evidence of at least one rebuilding phase.

The E cross wall could not be located. It appears to have been destroyed during the construction of a building of wattle and daub which had been burnt and collapsed. Two pierced stone discs are probably to be assigned to this phase, but no dating evidence for either structure was obtained.

The final season (1980) was spent in re-examining a stretch of retaining wall on the E side of the Neolithic long cairn, which had been incorporated into the later round cairn.

Mr and Mrs J G Scott 1977; 1978; 1979; 1980.

NR 7680 2598 Site identified as part of a coastal zone assessment survey.

M Cressey and S Badger 2005.