Dunollie Castle Cave

A few years prior to 1870, three skeletons were uncovered in a cave, below the castle of Dunollie [NM83SE 11], situated at the NE corner of the vegetable garden.

The skeletons of a man, woman and child (Information from Mrs Macdougall of Macdougall, Dunollie House, Oban) were found in the cave which is now partially destroyed.

Notes: A Geomorphic Survey was carried out due to developments (housing, hotels, industrial park and a hospital) along the Postglacial coast line. The survey was carried out in connection with the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and the University of Edinburgh. The caves that were looked at were caused by marine erosion along the 'original' Oban coast-line exposed in the Post-Glacial period. Different parts of the area surveyed, were split into 5 separate areas (Category 1-5), with Category 1 having the highest level of archaeological potential, and Category 5 having the lowest archaeological potential. It is thought that future developments along the Post Glacial cliffs may disturb an archaeological cave site. It has been suggested that all of the known caves and rockshelters in Oban should be cored to see which ones may be more likely to contain remains or sediments of archaeological importance.

Links and Resources:

6" OS 1938, Sheet 98, Argyllshire NE, 56° 25' 34.3"N, 5° 29' 58.1"W.
OS Auto Lat/Long conversion to NGR
Macklin, M., Rumsby, B., , 1991, Geomorphological Survey of caves and rockshelters in the Oban District
Macklin, MG & Rumsby, BT , University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Geomorphological survey of caves and rockshelters in the Oban district, Scotland: Report to Historic Scotland(1991)
Macklin, MG, Rumsby, BT& Rhodes, AN , University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Holocene vegetation and erosion history of Gallanach Beg, Oban: An interim report for Historic Scotland.(1992)
Macklin, MG, Rumsby, BT, Bonsall, C, Robinson, M & Rhodes, AN , University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Archaeological conservation in Oban, Western Scotland.(1992)
Macklin, MG, Rumsby, BT & Rhodes, AN , University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Holocene palaeoenvironments and prehistoric human activity in Gleann Sheileach, Oban, Scotland: A preliminary report to the Scottish Development Department.(1991)
Caves of Scotland Bibliography, p. 67.
Ordnance Survey (Name Book. Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey (6 inch and 1/2500 scale). Page(s): Book No. 19, 34 RCAHMS Shelf Number: Ref
RCAHMS. (1975) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the ancient monuments: volume 2: Lorn. Edinburgh. Page(s): 58-59, No. 90(2 RCAHMS Shelf Number: A.1.1.INV/19
Gordon 1949 234
MacDougall, A J, 1907 Notice of the Excavation of a Rock Shelter at Duncliffe, Oban. PSAS 41 181-182 (Refers to Ganavan Rockshelter).)
Murray 1805 26
Tolan-Smith 5

This entry was last updated: 2020-11-02 14:14:47

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NGR:	NM 85235 31463
WGS84:	56.42635, -5.48428
Length:	Not recorded
Vert. Range:	Not recorded
Altitude:	Not recorded
Geology:	Not recorded
Tags:	Cave, Archaeo
Registry:	main

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