Barnakill, Dunardry
Rock Carving (Post Medieval)
Site Name Barnakill, Dunardry
Classification Rock Carving (Post Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Possibly Barnakill Stone
Canmore ID 39566
Site Number NR89SW 11
NGR NR 82190 91540
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/39566
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Kilmichael Glassary
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Argyll And Bute
- Former County Argyll
NR89SW 11 8219 9154.
NR 822 915. A possibly Early Bronze Age carving of two hands occurs on a boulder in a massive ruined dyke at the NW end of a small conifer plantation on the E side of the track leading from the Crinan Canal to the deserted village of High Barnakill. It is on the N side of a small burn and about 100yds NE of NR89SW 16.
The boulder is 4'4" long and 1'6" above ground, On the flat top are two incised left hands, 5" apart with possibly natural parallel lines between them. The hands have been deepened by pecking within the outline and the wrists are indicated to the edge of the stone.
They are not identical but both are 7" across the palm and the ball of the thumb by 8" from the heel of the hand to the middle finger-tip, the fingers and thumbs being spread.
The site is well known locally, but no tradition is known.
M Campbell, J G Scott and S Piggott 1963; M Campbell and M Sandeman 1964; K M Dickie 1966; M Campbell 1963.
NR 8219 9155: The rock is as described.
Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (DWR) 30 April 1973.
No change to the previous information.
Surveyed at 1/10,000.
Visited by OS (BS) 29 March 1977.
Field Visit (August 1986)
The impressions of two left hands (1) are sunk in low relief on the flat upper surface of a triangular boulder incorporated into the field-dyke E of the farm-track from Barnakill to High Barnakill, and 65m from the ford where the track crosses the Barnakill Burn. Both hands are shown with fingers and thumbs spread, and are cut straight at the wrists. Although the positions of the fingers are not identical, each hand measures 0.2m in length by 0.16m in span. The outlines have been incised and the spaces within pecked out to a depth of about 5mm. the two parallel grooves between the hands appear to be of natural or accidental origin, and no other carvings can be identified on the stone.
Although a prehistoric date has been suggested for these carvings (2), the cutting of graffito hands and feet remained popular in Argyll until the 19th century, as seen on the parapet of the Bridge of Fyne. A recent origin is confirmed by the position of the hands on the boulder, which appears to be related to its location on the E side of the track.
RCAHMS 1992, visited August 1986
Note (24 October 2018)
Date Fieldwork Started: 24/10/2018
Compiled by: ScRAP
Location Notes: This site was visited and recorded through the use of photogrammetric methods as a part of the Scotland's Rock Art project. The upper surface of the rock has been carved with two left hands. The age of the motifs is difficult to determine but as they have a v-shaped profile it is most likely they were created through the use of metal tools. They are positioned on a boulder in a wall in close proximity to a recent track way, which may support a more recent date. Similar motifs of left hands are known on 18th century structures in Argyll such as at Bridge of Fyne (Canmore ID:125384) to the E of Inverary.
