Description

The monument consists of the remains of a possible early chapel and its associated burial ground, in which occasional burials took place until the mid-19th century.

The supposed remains of the chapel, presumably dedicated to St Finnen, consist of turf-covered footings measuring approximately 9.1m E-W by 5.9m N-S across walls some 0.8m in average thickness. No details of masonry construction are visible. The structure is orientated approximately E-W, but has rounded corners and stands in the SE corner of the surrounding enclosure. It appears in these ways untypical of chapel sites. The remains are surrounded by a scatter of boulders which may represent burial markers.

The chapel remains stand within an enclosure of irregular pentagonal plan measuring a maximum of 26m E-W by a maximum of 19m N-S. The enclosure is not complete, but what is visible consists of a low stone-and-turf dyke. The enclosure is marked as a burial ground on a map of 1768, although it was by then in only occasional use for the burial of still-born children, and around 1900 it was reported that the last burial had taken place some 60 years previously.

The area to be scheduled consists of a rectangle measuring 30m N-S by 36m E-W, centred on the enclosure, as marked in red on the accompanying map. This includes the presumed chapel and its surrounding enclosure, together with an area of ground in which evidence for the use of the site and associated activites may survive.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as the presumed remains of an early Christian Chapel, sited within an enclosure which appears to be a burial ground of that era and which is recorded as having continued in use as a burial ground until the mid-19th century. It has the potential to add to our knowledge of the Early Christian and medieval church in Scotland, the architecture and liturgical arrangements of Early Christian chapels, and burial practices in the Early Historic, medieval and post-medieval periods.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NL 94 NE 2.

Reference:

RCAHMS, Argyll 3, No. 290.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland