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St Columba's Cave (Ellary)

Ellary, Argyllshire.

Two caves penetrate the base of an old sea-cliff 100 m N of the shore of Bagh Dalach Duibhe, an inlet of Loch Caolisport sheltered by Eilean na h-Uamhaidh ('Island of the Caves'). Excavations in the larger or E cave have found evidence of repeated occupation, including ecclesiastical use in the Early Christian and medieval periods. The ruin of a 13th-century chapel stands some 35 m S of the cave, and in the late medieval period it was probably served by the chaplain or hermit who also ministered at Eilean Mor.

The two natural caves occupy the head of a gully in cliffs of contorted chlorite-schist. The larger one measures about 14 m from SW to NE, tapering in width from about 12 m to 4.5 m, and has a maximum height of about 5 m; an inner cave, extending a further 6 m to the NE and floored at a lower level, may not have been accessible during the medieval period.

The SE half of the main cave is occupied by a level shelf of rock, probably improved artificially, on which stands an altar of rubble pointed with lime-mortar. An area of the wall above the altar has been cut away to leave in low relief a Latin cross 0.17 m in height and 0.14 m across the arms. Its frame encroaches on an earlier equal-armed cross, much weathered and now represented only by four circular depressions at the terminals. At the SW angle of the rock-shelf there is an oval basin 0.3 m deep, which shows no evidence of having been used as a mortar. A shallower basin near the mouth of the cave may, if of artificial origin, have been a water-catchment for drips from the roof.

Two massive blocks of fallen rock fill the E side of the cave mouth, forming a high ledge which appears to have been reached by steps from both the exterior and the interior, and preserves remains of a transverse drystone wall. This was probably on the same alignment as the wall across the mouth of the cave, described by White as less than 1m high, but shown in a drawing of 1833 by James Skene as containing a lintelled doorway (en.5). Sockets cut in the W wall of the cave in this area may have held strengthening timbers for this wall, but others in the cave are probably related to its use for drying fishing-nets during the 19th century.

The floor of the W half of the cave, formed of accumulated soil almost to the height as the rock-shelf, was cleared in the 1870s and dumped in a spoil-tip outside the cave. In a series of excavations between 1959 and 1976 this material was examined and replaced in the cave, under the direction of Miss Campbell of Kilberry and Dr C J Young. Finds from this un-stratified spoil ranged from prehistoric bone and antler tools, and a rim-sherd of Samian ware, to a folding balance-beam of Norse or medieval date, late medieval coins and 19th-century clay pipes (en.6). The spoil-tip overlay remains of probable metal-working, an E-W drystone wall with entrance, and rough cobbling of probable late-medieval date. Several extended inhumation-burials have been identified, both within the cave and immediately outside it second smaller cave immediately to the W shows no clear evidence of early use. [RCHAMS]

A natural cave, known as St Columba's Cave, which contains evidence for occupation and activity spanning from the Mesolithic to present, and the remains of an associated 13th-century chapel. The cave and chapel lie approximately 10 m above sea level on the N shore of Loch Caolisport in a sheltered bay.

St Columba's Cave comprises a large natural cave running NNE-SSW, which is approximately 15 m at its greatest width across the entrance, and approximately 23 m deep. The cave contains a drystone altar on a natural shelf on the E side, above which two rock-cut crosses, probable early Christian, are carved into the wall. On the W side, there are traces of drystone walling and sockets in the cave wall which may have supported timber structures. Near the entrance is a hollow rock-cut bowl. There are also traces of drystone wall at the edge of a raised platform area just to the S of the cave mouth. The cave was cleared at the end of the 19th century. Excavations of the cleared material and inside the cave between 1959 and 1976 produced a rich assemblage of artifacts and revealed evidence for its use as a site of Mesolithic and Iron Age occupation and activity, early Christian place of worship and later medieval religious activity, including burials.

The 13th-century chapel is approximately 35 m SSE of the cave mouth and is associated with later use of the cave as a place of religious activity and burial. The overall footprint of the chapel survives , measuring approximately 10 m W-E by 5 m N-S, within walls up to 1 m thick. The upstanding remains are a mixture of dressed and rubble courses with later mortar. The W gable survives to the greatest height; the E gable has an opening which may have been a window. The chapel has a paved east end, with large stone slabs forming an altar-base, and a cobbled western end. [HES]

The main cave has a shelf on its E side on which is built a drystone altar, with above it on the rock a small cross with an expanded shaft, another to N marked by five pits in the rock, and still further N, a faint cross only visible in certain lights. Beam-holes in the W wall of the cave suggest a lean-to roof to protect the altar. An oval rock-basin is in the floor of the shelf near the altar. The cave was cleared up at the end of last century. Excavations were carried out here c. 1930.

Two shallow graves, containing extended inhumations, lying E-W, have been found at the foot of the bank outside the cave, and against the foundation of a boulder wall. A "stone coffin", containing an inhumation, is reported to have been found inside the main cave in the 19th century 'excavation', but no information is available as to size or depth in cave-deposit. Material of all periods from the Mesolithic has been found during the current excavations. Now at Kilberry, it is to be given to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland [NMAS] at the end of the work. A stone basin, now the font at Achahoish parish church (NR 781 776) is said to have come from this cave. [Campbell & Sandeman]

Alternate Names: Colmcille's Cave

Notes: The monument is of national importance as a natural cave containing evidence for its repeated use from the Mesolithic onwards, including the early Christian period, and an associated later chapel. It has high potential to contribute towards our understanding of the origins and development of places of worship from the early Christian period through to the post-Reformation period and, specifically, of early medieval religious practices and burial rites. It can also contribute greatly towards the understanding of the human use of cave sites and early human occupation in Scotland. The cave retains its field characteristics to a significant degree, and has excellent contextual and associative characteristics. There is high potential for the survival of important archaeological remains within, beneath and around the upstanding chapel remains, and in undisturbed areas of the cave and the immediate surrounding area. The close physical relationship between the cave site and the medieval chapel, together with the area's association with St Columba and the origins of Christianity in Scotland, make this a particularly significant site. The cave itself is one of the most important cave sites in Argyll for its wealth of archaeological remains from the Mesolithic and Iron Age periods, and for its connection with St Columba.

There is a strong local tradition that St Columba came here on his way to Dunadd and Iona.