Description

Two crannogs are situated at the W end of Loch Awe, 740m WNW and 260m N of St Columba's Church at Kilneuair. Both crannogs were investigated in 1972 by a naval sub-aqua team. At the westernmost crannog a large amount of timber was noted; a large quantity of trunks and beams had been exposed in the past when the surface stone was taken away to build up one end of the crannog during a later re-occupation.

The crannog was provided with a harbour, consisting of a small bay on the crannog surface with a shelving bottom to allow a boat to be drawn up. Part of a saddle quern and part of a rotary quern were found on the crannog and another piece of a rotary quern was found on the nearby shore. The easternmost crannog also has a harbour. Just off the entrance to the harbour are two circular heaps of stones which are probably the remains of supports for timber piles.

The areas to be scheduled are circular on plan, each measuring 50m in diameter, to include the crannogs and an area around in which traces of associated activities may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monuments are of national importance because of their potential to provide information about later prehistoric and/or early medieval settlement, society and economy. The crannogs form part of an important distribution of similar structures in and around Loch Awe, with which they are likely to have been inter-related. Well-preserved organic remains can be expected to survive which have the potential to provide structural and palaeoenvironmental information.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NM 80 SE 18 and 48.

Reference:

RCAHMS (1988) Inventory for Mid Argyll and Cowal, No. 352.3-4.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland