History Scotland Magazine: Kilmartin House

Kilmartin House

Kilmartin Glen, in the heart of Mid Argyll, is a very special place. Its western boundary is the sea, and the terraces on the valley sides were formed by glacial action between 26,000 and 10,000 years ago. The flat and fertile plain was once the seabed, and is a productive farming area.

Hunter-gatherers became farmers, growing basic crops and rearing animals. They moved out of natural shelters and built small settlements from timber, wicker, turf and hide. The foundations of a community were laid, about 5000 BC. The earliest monuments were made from timber, work starting on the north circle at Temple Wood around 3,500 BC. The circle was partially converted to stone, then abandoned in favour of the south circle. Cairn material was readily available from nearby gravel terraces, some of which were beaches when the sea-level was higher.

By 3,000 BC the dead were being interred in chambered cairns, massive community tombs built to receive human remains and grave goods over successive generations. There are six examples in Kilmartin Glen, of which Nether Largie South is the best preserved. The slabs used in construction are of local schist a very hard metamorphic rock, easily split.

Kilmartin has the densest and most elaborate concentration of later Neolithic and Bronze Age rock carvings in Scotland. Some may be more than 5,000 years old; the majority were carved between 2,500 BC and 1,500 BC. Their origins lie in the Atlantic seaway Neolithic cultures and they belong to the same tradition as rock-art recorded in north-western Spain, Brittany and Ireland. Motifs range from cup and ring marks to spirals and rosettes, but their precise meaning remains unclear. Some standing stones, end-slabs and capstones have been decorated, but most designs are on natural rock surfaces. There are 33 such sites within a 6 mile radius of Kilmartin House Museum.

A number of standing stone complexes were erected between 3,000 BC and 1,000 BC. Some alignments may have been used to predict the seasons through solar or lunar observations; others can be seen from great distances and may have served as territorial markers or symbols of the power of the landscape. This concentration, diversity and date-range of sites surrounding Kilmartin is unique in Scotland. More than 350 scheduled ancient monuments are contained within the area, and all of the principal monuments have free public access.

The Scotti migrated from the Antrim coast around 500 AD, establishing a stronghold at Dunadd. The fort became a centre of power, and the site at which the earliest kings of Scotland were invested. This is the place where Scotland came into being. Curious carvings near the summit are thought to have ceremonial meaning. They include a footprint, a wild boar and an inscription in ogam an ancient form of writing from Ireland. A rock-cut basin may be much older, and the discovery of a Neolithic carved stone ball at the site suggests prehistoric occupation.

Carnasserie Castle was completed in 1572 for John Carswell, Bishop of the Isles. In 1567 he translated the Book of Common Order, the earliest printed book in Scots Gaelic. Cille a Mhartainn the Church of Martin dominates the village. The terrace on which it stands overlooks Kilmartins unique linear cemetery and may have been an important site in prehistoric times. The earliest record of a church here is from 1323. Kilmartin Church has an extensive collection of well-preserved Medieval grave-slabs.

The tradition of erecting great monuments in the Kilmartin Glen was maintained until recent times. Poltalloch House was built for Neill Malcolm in 1853. The house has been derelict since being dismantled in 1957, but the ruins occupy a commanding site on a terrace overlooking Crinan Bay and the Sound of Jura. The modern designed landscapes of Kilmartin were created during improvements to the Poltalloch estate.

Kilmartin House Museum is dedicated to the celebration and study of this extraordinary landscape, and welcomes visitors from all over the world seven days a week, all year. Kilmartin is only 2 hours drive from Glasgow on the A816 Lochgilphead Oban road. Call 01546 5102578 or log on to www.kilmartin.org for details of events, exhibitions and workshops.

www.kilmartin.org