Monument record MHG33512 - Clach a Cholumain, SE of Mains of Assynt

Marked and named on 1st edition and 2nd edition Ordnance Survey mapping. <1>,<2>

Information and photographs received as part of the Community Timeline course, run by ARCH. The name translates as 'The Pigeon (or Dove) Stone' and some people believe it may be pre-Christian. The stone is of some size, in forestry. <3>,<4>

Mark Stevens has provided a link to a set of photographs and videos held in his Flickr stream. He has made the following notes:
"A large glacial erratic of pink granite on the edge of the Black Rock Gorge. The gorge is cut through the conglomerate by the Allt Graad which flows into the Cromarty Firth near Evanton, Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Clach a Cholumain translates from the Gaelic as Pigeon or Dove Stone. It could refer to St Columba (Dove) or St Colman (Cholumain) in its recent christianised form. The Monastery at Tarbert by Portmahomack is dedicated to St Colman. The pool below the Stone is called Poll Lucais. This is an anglicisation of Poll an t'Slugaidh which means ''Pool of swallowing''. Above the road to the North lies the site of an ancient chapel dedicated to St Curitan but here called Cladh Thuradan. The fact that these christianised names and the chapel exist point to the possible significance of this place to Pagan Cantae and Picts. I cross refer in particular to Dunino Den near St Andrews in Fife."

In the captions for his photos Mark notes that Clach a'Cholumain is not printed on the historic Ordnance Survey maps in the usual Gothic script used for antiquities.<5>