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Red Cove

Kintyre, 3 km S of Tayinloan, Argyllshire.

Raised beach sea cave in small north facing sandstone cliff (knoll) about 25 m from the road [A83]. Apparently a shallow undercut with timber fencing across the entrance.

Red Cove is a small cove in the face of a red sandstone rock, in which a great quantity of human bones was found some years before 1869. [Scotland's Places]

In the recess of a soft freestone rock, not far from the sea, where a farmer was lately preparing to erect a cart shade, and had commenced to level the bottom, he met with a great collection of sea shells, and discovered in the face of the rock several apertures or square holes, crammed with human bones. He immediately desisted from his operations, and left undisturbed the repositories of the dead'. [NSA]

Red Cove, located at NR 6883 4296, is a shallow cave, 7.0m across and 3.5m deep, situated on the landward edge of a raised beach. Several apertures, formed by water action on faults in the sandstone, occur in the back wall of the cave, but no bones remain in those holes visible, though others may exist beneath the present silted floor level. No sea shells can be seen, and the farmer at Beachmeanach knows of no further finds from the cave. Lack of evidence precludes classification of this site. The discovery of sea shells (NSA 1845) may indicate occupation, but they could have been deposited naturally before the formation of the raised beach.[RCHAMS]

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: West face of knoll has bee quarried. Parking not good but may be possibe for short periods beside field gate to south (do not block this gateway).

The slight remains of a dun are situated on the summit of a rock which rises to a height of 4.5m above the surrounding coastal plain 185m N of Beachmeanach farmhouse; the rock is connected to higher ground on the E by a narrow col. All that remains of the dun wall is a band of rubble and boulders which borders the summit area on the E, N and S. If the wall continuted all round the summit, the area enclosed would have measured about 15m by 9m. The entrance was probably on the E and the interior is featureless. [RCHAMS]

The monument comprises a prehistoric dun likely to date to the Iron Age (between 500 BC and AD 500), together with a shallow cave at the base of the rock on which the dun is sited. [HES]