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Chotain, Uamh Port a' [Islay]

Islay, Argyllshire.

Raised beach sea cave, marked 'cave' on the earliest OS map, in a small cove to the west of Port a' Chotain.

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A cave, about 20 yards deep, lies in a re-entrant [angle] in the cliff face, about 50 ft [16 m] above the sea. The cave, as described by MacKie (1974), is 13.5m deep, 9.5m maximum width, and 2.5m high at the entrance.

A heap of stony debris has accumulated in the opening. A trench was sunk into the level earth floor at the back of the cave and, at a depth of 1 1/2ft encountered thick midden deposits of shells with a few bones of sheep and deer. The midden continued below the bottom of the trench 3ft. Two pebbles, used as hammers, were found. A radiocarbon date of AD 1710+-110 (corrected to 1630) was obtained for a heap of shells near the top of the layer. A 17th or early 18th century date for the occupation seems likely.

The deposit of shells comprising limpets and winkles is at the back of the cave.

Shovel pits (0.25 x 0.25m) were dug during the course of the Islay Caves Project 2001 fieldwork season. A preliminary shovel pit in a shell midden was extended into a test pit. The shell midden contained many fish and animal bones but no cultural material was recovered. [Trove.scot]

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10 m wide, 7 m high entrance, Access easy.

This big, open cave, with gently sloping floor, is fairly dry inside. at 14 m in, there is a wide, 0.5 m high horizontal slot giving access to a 7 m wide, 15 m long, second chamberwith a maximum head height of 2 m but mostly lower. [Caves of Islay]

Alternative Names: Uamh Port a' Chotain, Port a' Chotain Cave, Double Chamber Cave

Notes: The name 'Double Chamber Cave' came from Graham Little. The coordinates are the same but Graham gives the the entrance as 10 m high and the height above sea level as 8 m so there may be either two separate caves or different surveyor have chosen different points to measure [This seems unlikely from the photograph of the entrance, CHECK].

There is no clear reason why this cave is Uamh Port a' Chotain and not any of the other caves along this stretch of cliffs. It may be that Uamh Mhor was previously called Uamh Port a' Chotain and the name shifted as Uamh Mhor became more commonly used.

Hydrographic Feeds: None

Hydrographic Resurgences: None