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Post Cave

Garbh Eileach, the Garvellachs, Jura, Argyllshire.

Cave.

Entry based on CoSBib listing. No cave at given (low-accuracy) coordinates for "Garvellach". No coordinates are given by either Tolan-Smith or Mercer. Mercer seems to assume that either the location of the cave is well-known or that the cave is obvious but does confirm it is on Garbh Eileach.

Last among the island sites are a cave, said to be paved and walled, near Port Righ on Gigha (illus 1. no 41) (Mercer 1978, 68) and the Post Cave on Garbh Eileach in the Garvellachs (illus 1. no 42) (ibid 58. 61-2). According to Mercer this latter site was excavated to bedrock but the only find to be reported is a complete bone pin (ibid 52 fig 4 no 12) from a deposit described as recent (ibid 58 ). [Tolan-Smith]

The Illustration in Tolan-Smith is small scale but seems to suggest the cave may be near Beallach nan Tallabairt (on the north west coast of the island).

A complete bone pin excavated in the 'recent' deposit in the Post Cave, Garbh Eileach, is also shown (no. 12). [Mercer]

Also found at Post Cave were the remains of small mammals (water vole, field vole, wood mouse and water shrew) [Mercer]

The interest of this result has since led the present writer to trap small mammals in N Jura, Lunga and Garbh Eilcach, to make a surface collection of bones in two Scarba caves and to excavate their remains in the Post Cave on Garbh Eileach. The Post Cave was excavated to bedrock and, as a rough guide, the number of mandibles is shown in Table 7. [Mercer]

Douglas Law's photographs titled ' Landing at Garbh Eileach' clearly show a sea cave entrance with evidence of vegetated stal on a small raised beach by sea cliffs (approx altitude 5 m). Annoyingly he does not give any coordinates but the rock features at the boat landing site has been tentatively identified from aerial photographs [Alternatively see cave (Bealach Buidhe), entry 7265 at NM 67744 12397]. This may or may not be Post Cave.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: CoSBIb lists only name, 6 fig. NGR (NM 670 120) & refs (below).

If this is the cave mentioned the Basalt and Microgabbro intrusion is surrounded by Port Askaig Tillite Formation - Metadiamictite.