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Cliff House Rockshelter

Benderloch, Ardchattan & Muckairn, Argyllshire.

Raised beach rock shelter. Either side of cave entrance the cliff face slopes outward.

Human remains found by owner landscaping at Cliff House NM 9051 3799. AOC excavated under Human Remains Call-off Contract 21-22 May 2007. Landscaping impacted raised beach rock shelter. Most deposits, incl. midden material, disturbed, removed from site. Remaining in situ soils held decorated prehistoric pottery (prob. Food Vessel), 1 worked bone tool & small amount of human bone. Small mammal bones & marine shells in disturbed material. Human bone indicates 2 adults & 1 adolescent bone pointing to 3rd. Fieldwork in favourable working conditions. Disturbed material did not hold further human remains. Small amount of bone visible in disturbed material & spoil heap obviously derived from animals, mostly small mammals. Single long bone & lower jaw only definite human remains found. Long bone in situ, jaw bone from disturbed material. Assemblage recovered by Police & Dr. Jennifer Miller, examined by Dr Stuart McDonald, human bones of at least 2 & prob. 3 individuals. From pelvic morphology & arthritic change of vertebral column, aged female. Vertebral column, all lumbar vertebrae, sacrum & paired hip bones from this individual. 2nd individual deduced from 2nd right femur & right hip bone. Uncertain sex of 2nd subject & also to which subject mandible belongs. 3rd subject indicated by left metacarpal bone with nearly closed epiphyseal growth plate, indicative of late adolescence. This may be only bone of 3rd individual (also possible juvenile pubic bone.) Intact & fragmentary thoracic vertebrae also from separate & smaller person. Bones recovered by Police & Dr. Miller from disturbed material & contexts unclear beyond being from cave. Among bones Dr. McDonald noted sheep/goat & cow bones with rarer pig bones. Long bones & mandibles present. Bird bones & selection of marine shells including, limpet, oyster & mussels also identified. Stratigraphy, based primarily on sediment stains on adjacent cliff face suggest 2 periods of midden activity with intervening deposit of sand across the cave floor. Middens directly over rocky scree talus. Between base of cave & vertical cliff , a fissure, on north side only infilled with deposit containing decorated prehistoric pottery sherd & worked bone tool, also long bone presumed human. Cave walls suggest extension of main context but material removed prior to works lost any actual stratigraphic link. Multiple burials, at least 3 individuals. Fragmentary remains & unfortunate discovery (lack of stratigraphic sequence or relationships) mean little concluded about burial rite, or age of burials. Bodies incomplete & possibly cave was ossuary similar to Carding Mill Bay II. Prehistoric pottery, from possible Food Vessel, hints at Bronze Age activity but relationship to burial unknown. Small quantity of archaeological deposits of unknown date, primarily stony deposits with rarer midden material. Upper surface held ceramic teapot lid & pictures prior to works show cave open & visible. Possible last vestiges of cave fill relate to recent times with earlier material, lower in sequence, lost. Radiocarbon dates for human remains range from c. 2200 BC -1900 BC, in range for use of Food Vessels in Scotland. Reasonable Food Vessel is associated with one or more burials despite discovery in lower deposit not rocky scree talus. Date of midden above scree 1770 - 1530 BC at 2 sigma, later than closely correlated dates from human bones. Conversely, cereal grain from cave side slightly earlier than bones, suggests this layer predates bone & unlikely to equate with midden layer. Date 2290 BC - 2030 BC still in range associated with Food Vessels (23rd to 19th century BC). Excavation dates correlate closely with available stratigraphic evidence & artefactual evidence. Layers of animal bone assemblages typical of midden deposition, carcass butchery, disposal & cooking waste. Shells from common edible shellfish species abundant. Cereal grains in contexts indicate likelihood of midden deposits separated by sterile layer appearing natural, possibly a storm, blowing sand over middens; or slower build up, over weeks, years or centuries. Worked bone artefact, split long bone with bevelled working edge, probably used for scraping or burnishing, possibly during treatment of hides. Tools of this type span from Neolithic to 1st Millennium AD. Human remains in caves in Oban not uncommon & well documented, if not so well excavated & retrieved. As at Benderloch, most found by building development, destroying caves & associated deposits.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: Human remains discovered by householder undertaking landscaping for garage in garden of Cliff House, Main Street, Benderloch. Archaeological excavation & survey under terms of Historic Scotland Human Remains Call-off Contract on 21-2 May 2007. Landscaping impacted on rock shelter located above raised beach. Inspection revealed vast majority of previously in situ deposits, including midden material disturbed & removed from site. Examination of remaining in situ soils recovered small quantity of decorated prehistoric pottery (probably from Food Vessel), single worked bone tool & small amount of human bone. Extensive quantities of small mammal bones & marine shells identifiable within disturbed material. Initial examination of human bone indicates presence of 2 adults with single adolescent bone pointing to presence of third individual. Archive deposited with RCAHMS. Funder: Historic Scotland.

There seems to be some confusion about the caves near Benderloch, Argyll. The given NGR and the short description for "Cliff House Rockshelter" appear to be correct. Its alternative name is obviously "Uamh Caillich". The NGR and map location given for the separate entry for "Caillich (Uamh) [Ledaig]" is obviously incorrect. Its description could usefully be transferred to that for "Cliff House Rockshelter" [Trevor Faulkner]

Hydrographic Feeds: None

Hydrographic Resurgences: None