Friday 22nd May

Today we were exploring neolithic Scotland!  The morning was really very wet and drizzly but the sun came out in the afternoon.  We arrived at Kilmartin House Museum which was quite small but very informative - well worth a visit.  We learned that there was a great deal of neolithic archaeology and history in this area, all pretty concentrated together.

We started with Ri Cruin Cairn which has a central burial or 'cist' and axe mould marks on one of the head stones.  Across the way we had a look at Temple Wood where there are two stone circles - one had what looked like a henge standing stone formation in it and contained a burial in the centre - one of the standing stones had some cup and ring marks on it, barely visible though as it it open to the elements.  The other was a mound of stones as a cist burial with one central stone.  Not far away was Nether Largie South which is a neolithic chamber tomb, and Nether Largie Standing Stones.  Here there are 5 tall standing stones - three have cup and ring marks on them, most likely dating to before the stones were erected as they currently stand.

Back at the Museum, we went into the cafe and had a delicious cheese, bacon and tomato tart with salad, followed by Orange and Elderflower Cheesecake!  We then went for a stroll outside and discovered an interesting sculpture which had a plaque stating it was a type of solar and lunar calendar, although it was difficult to try and interpret exactly what it was supposed to have been telling us, but it was rather nice!  We also had a look in the nearby churchyard to have a look at some historic carved stones before heading on to Carnasserie Castle which was a fairly large ruin with steps right to the top of the towers.

Next we visited Dunchraigaig Cairn which originally contained three stone graves or cist burials, and there was a cup and ring marked stone nearby.  We then took a look at Ballymeanoch Standing Stones which were also next to a curbed cairn and a henge which was more like an earthwork.  Finally we went up Dunadd Fort which is an Iron Age Hill Fort which seemed to have been reused as the centre of royal power.  On the top there is a stone in which there is a carved footprint (apparently two but we could only see one), a carving of a boar, and some incised ogham script. There was a basin nearby as well, arved into another piece of rock, potentially used for 'anointing' or possible washing hands and/or feet.  With the exception of the one footprint, everything else was quite worn and not easy to see, although what we were looking at was a replica of the stone itself - which is actually about 10cm below the concrete reconstruction.  This Fort also had a pretty good view of the large raised peat bog known as Mòine Mhór and the nearby meandering River Add.

Before we finished for the day we went to have a look at the cup and ring marked stones at Kilmichael Glassary, wich were fun to explore.  Some were more easy to see and photograph than others, but I can tell you they were definitely there!