Kilmory Oib

NR 78080 90245 Site included in an archaeological evaluation carried out as part of the Dalriada Project. The settlement buildings were photographed and recorded in detail along with measured sketch plans drawn, to give an overview of archaeological potential of the site. 17 potential structures were identified, these in various states of preservation. The structures would appear to represent both byres and domestic buildings while two 'sub-circular' mounds of rubble possibly represent corn dryers.

R Regan, 2006.

NR 78080 90245 (centred on) The settlement of Kilmory Oib is in N Knapdale forest. During a previous survey 17

potential structures, in various states of preservation, were identified including possible byres, domestic buildings, two ‘sub-circular’ mounds of rubble that may represent corn dryers and buildings superimposed over earlier structures.

In April–May 2008 two trenches were opened across two badly collapsed structures (Structures 3 and 7) that were thought to represent the earliest buildings in the settlement. The excavation revealed that the two structures were probably in use until the settlement was abandoned.

Structure 3, while built with solid footings, appears to have been an outbuilding, store or workhouse, possibly a

peat store. Structure 3 appears to have replaced an earlier building (Structure 17). This earlier building was a post-built structure with evidence of stone and clay footings along one side. The building had a beaten earth floor with evidence of hearth placements. The age of this earlier structure proved elusive as no diagnostic artefacts associated with its use were recovered.

Structure 7, with its central drain, was probably a byre, the northern end of a byre dwelling. A later structure was built over the byre. This was probably a shepherd’s bothy built after the settlement was abandoned and converted for sheep farming. Both buildings, like other structures in the settlement, appear to have declined rapidly and it is possible they had been demolished. Whether this was deliberate so that the buildings could not be reused, or the result of the reuse of the building materials is not clear. It is possible that rubble from the buildings was used to build the track to the E of the site, which seems to have used substantial quantities of

stone in its construction.

The date at which the settlement was abandoned remains unclear, although documentary research indicates it was not long after the Arichonan clearance in 1848. In 1843 those tenants liable to pay road money from Kilmory are listed as Neil McCallum, John Gillies, Archibald McDugall and Angus McDougall. Further research needs to be done, but these men and their families may have been the last to occupy the settlement, and it may be the remains of their life here that we have recovered during the excavation.

Archive: Kilmartin House Museum (intended). Report: Historic Scotland, WoSAS SMR and RCAHMS

Funder: Dalriada Project

Roddy Regan (Kilmartin House Museum), 2008

The website text produced for Kilmory Oib webpages on the Forest Heritage Scotland website (www.forestheritagescotland.com).

Introduction: The stone, the well and the settlement

In Knapdale Forest, near the edge of Loch Coille Bharr, you can discover the remains of the township called Kilmory Oib.

Usually referred to simply as Kilmory, the township is part of the estate known as Oib, or Oab, meaning bay or inlet in Gaelic. The lands of Kilmory belonged to the Campbells, but in 1785 a bankrupt Neil Campbell sold them to Neil Malcolm of Poltalloch.

The township consists of at least seventeen buildings, including houses and byres for the animals. There are also two sub-circular piles of rubble, which may be the remains of corn drying kilns.

There is also an early Christian cross-marked stone, which stands beside a small well. It is thought that the stone dates to the 8th or 9th century.

Historical records mention Kilmory from around the 17th century. One of the earliest known references is in the 1694 Hearth Tax. It records tenants Alexander and Malcolm McIlvernock, Robert Campbell and Donald McMillan as having paid their taxes.

One of the last references is on another tax list, the 1843 Road Money tax, which lists Angus and Archibald McDugall, Neil McCalum and John Gillies as tenants.

It is unknown exactly when and how Kilmory was abandoned but the buildings are shown as unroofed by 1873 when the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map was published.

Read our "People" story to find out more about what could have happened.

People Story: Aiding and abetting

Kilmory Oib has family connections to the nearby township of Arichonan, where the tenants rioted against eviction in 1848.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Neil Malcolm of Poltalloch bought the lands of both Arichonan and Kilmory Oib among others. In 1848, Malcolm ordered the eviction of his tenants at Arichonan. You can discover more about this on our Arichonan pages.

The tenants did not go quietly and a riot began. Historical records show that those involved were not limited to the tenants of Arichonan. Amongst the rioters were two McMillan brothers from Kilmory, sons of one of the evictees, Neil McMillan. Although arrested, the brothers escaped punishment. Their younger brother, Neil McMillan Junior from Cairnbaan, was not so lucky, however, and served an eight month jail sentence. Another Kilmory rioter, John Gillies, escaped the law and disappeared.

The Kilmory Oib tenants probably fought not only for family and for friends but because they feared their own homes were in danger of the same threat.

The purpose of the Arichonan evictions was to clear the land for sheep farming. Today, if you explore Kilmory, you can discover evidence that supports the later use of this site for sheep farming. This evidence is similar to that found at Arichonan, for example some buildings have been partly demolished; the walls left form enclosures that are ideal for keeping sheep.