Description

The monument comprises the remains of a nineteenth-century fishing settlement and the site of an Early Christian chapel and burial ground.

The chapel and burial ground site partly occupies the summit of a low rocky ridge which runs E-W. The vestiges of a transverse wall near the E end may represent one of the boundaries of the cemetery, although there are no identifiable remains of a chapel. Boulders appear to mark the position of burials, and near the crest of the ridge is a hollow basin cut from a rock outcrop. There are the remains of a well in the gully immediately to the S of the burial ground. The site has produced two Early Christan carved stones: a cruciform slab (now at Colonsay House), carved with a Latin cross, human head and phallic motif, probably of seventh or eighth century AD date; and a slab with Latin cross, now in the National Museum.

The fishing settlement includes a continuous range which incorporates the remains of eight single-storeyed domestic and agricultural units. The dwellings at the W end of the range have projecting chimneyed fireplaces of secondary construction and some retain traces of high- level cruck-slots. Although there are no identifiable remains earlier than the later eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, it is not unlikely that this site may have been the focus for earlier settlement. It was abandoned in 1918.

The area to be scheduled measures 170m from SW to NE by up to 110m transversely, to include the chapel, burial ground, fishing settlement and an area around in which associated remains are likely to survive, as marked in red on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it is the site of a chapel and burial ground which has the potential to provide information about the organisation and development of the early church in Scotland, as well as specific evidence for architecture, burial rites and information about the contemporary population. The fishing village is a good example of a nineteenth century vernacular architecture, and associated archaeological deposits are likely to have the potential to augment our knowledge of its use and development.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NR49NW 8.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland