Description

The monument consists of a group of standing stones situated on a gravel terrace on the W side of Kilmartin Glen, 450m to the NW of Ballymeanoch. The monument is being rescheduled because of faults in previous scheduling documentation which have led to uncertainty over the exact extent and position of the scheduled area.

There are six stones now standing; four stones stand in a line, with a further pair of stones, on a parallel alignment, 41m to the SW. The group of four stones is arranged in a line oriented NW/SE, graded in height (largest to smallest) from SE to NW. Two of the stones are decorated; the second in line from the SE has at least seventy cup-marks and thirteen cup and ring marks, some with gutters (a line cut through the ring from the cup). The third in line from the SE bears forty cupmarks, one cup and ring mark and one cup and ring mark with gutter. A seventh stone is known to have stood as an outlier to the W of the pair; it has been removed and its site is not included in the scheduling. An eighth stone has recently been discovered, lying partially buried 9.7m SE of the pair of stones, and apparently continuing the alignment; this stone is included.

The area to be rescheduled is an oval 70m NE-SW by 40m NW-SE covering the standing stones and an area around them in which remains associated with their construction and use 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 of its potential to contribute to our understanding of prehistoric ritual practices. Its importance is increased by its being part of the internationally important complex of monuments of similar date in the Kilmartin Valley.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

The monument is recorded by RCAHMS as NR89NW 14.

References:

Abernethy D 1993, 'Ballymeanoch standing stones and Nether Largie standing stones (Kilmartin and Kilmichael Glassary parish): geophysical survey and possible fallen standing stones', DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT 1993, 74-5.

Abernethy D 1995a 'Ballymeanoch (Kilmichael Glassary parish), standing stones and henge', DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT 1995, 63-64.

Allen J R 1882 'Notes on some undescribed stones with cup markings in Scotland', PROC SOC ANTIQ SCOT 16, 114-17.

Barber J 1980, 'The excavation of the holed-stone at Ballymeanoch, Kilmartin, Argyll', PROC SOC ANTIQ SCOT 109, 104-11.

Barber J 1978, 'Ballymeanoch: cremation', DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT 1978, 22-3.

Campbell M and Sandeman M 1964, 'Mid Argyll: an archaeological survey', PROC SOC ANTIQ SCOT 95, 24, No. 158; 30, No. 206.

Jones A 2001, 'Enduring images? Image production and memory in earlier Bronze Age Scotland'. In Bruck J ed. 2001, BRONZE AGE LANDSCAPES: TRADITION AND TRANSFORMATION, Oxford, 220, 223.

Kahane A and Proudfoot E 1982, 'Ballymeanoch (Kilmartin Parish): standing stone', DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT 1982, 22.

Morris R W B 1977, THE PREHISTORIC ROCK ART OF ARGYLL, 55-6, ARG 16.

RCAHMS 1988, ARGYLL: AN INVENTORY OF THE MONUMENTS VOLUME 6: MID-ARGYLL AND COWAL, PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HISTORIC MONUMENTS, Edinburgh, HMSO, 127-9, No.199.

Ritchie G 1997, 'Monuments associated with burial and ritual in Argyll'. In Ritchie G ed. 1997, THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ARGYLL, Edinburgh, 78.

Ruggles C L N 1981, 'A critical examination of the megalithic lunar observatories'. In Ruggles C L N and Whittle A W R eds. 1981, ASTRONOMY AND SOCIETY IN BRITAIN DURING THE PERIOD 4000-1500 BC, Brit Archaeol Rep Brit Ser 88, Oxford, 171.

Ruggles C L N 1984, MEGALITHIC ASTRONOMY: A NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND STATISTICAL STUDY OF 300 WESTERN SCOTTISH SITES, Brit Archaeol Rep Brit Ser 123, Oxford, 149, No. AR 15.

Scott J G 1991 'The stone circles at Temple Wood, Kilmartin, Argyll', GLASGOW ARCHAEOL J 15, 1988-89, 110.

Stevenson J B 1997, 'The prehistoric rock carvings of Argyll'. In Ritchie J ed. 1997, THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ARGYLL, Edinburgh, 96, 98.

Stuart J 1867, SCULPTURED STONES OF SCOTLAND, 2, Edinburgh, 67.

Thom A 1971, MEGALITHIC LUNAR OBSERVATORIES, Oxford, 52, A2/12.

Thom A and Thom A S 1979, 'The standing stones in Argyllshire', GLASGOW ARCHAEOL J 6, 7, 10.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland