Description

This massive standing stone is situated 40m E of Torran farmsteading and measures 3.3m in height and 1.2 by 0.55m at the base. The stone is almost certainly prehistoric, probably erected in the Bronze Age, but crosses have been pecked on both faces. These may date from as early as the second half of the first millennium AD (the Early Historic period).

The standing stone is aligned NE and SW, rising with straight sides to a pointed top. Of the two crosses, that on the SE is less well defined than that on the NW and the latter contains a cup-like depression 50mm in diameter and 20mm deep within the right arm of the cross.

The area to be scheduled measures 25m from N to S by 20m transversely, but excluding the upstanding remains of the adjacent sheep wash, to include the stone and an area around in which traces of activities associated with its use and erection may survive, as marked in red on the attached map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it is a fine example of the Early Christian re-use of a prehistoric standing stone, only occasionally seen elsewhere in Argyll and Ireland, and because of its potential to provide information about both Bronze Age and Early Christian ritual practice.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NM 80 SE 37.

Reference:

RCAHMS (1988) Inventory for Mid Argyll and Cowal, No. 230.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland