Monument record MHG5775 - Loch Chaluim Chille
Summary
No summary available.
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NG 3729 6879 (20m by 20m) (Buffered by site type) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NG36NE |
| Geographical Area | SKYE AND LOCHALSH |
| Old County | INVERNESS-SHIRE |
| Civil Parish | KILMUIR |
Map
Type and Period (1)
Full Description
NG36NE 8 c. 373 688
For logboat found in 1874, see NG36NE 14.
During the draining of Loch Chaluim-Cille (Name: NG 378 687) in 1763, a log canoe, some 14' long and 3' broad, was found sunk deep in the mud of the bottom of the lake. Made of a single piece of fir or oak, it had been strengthened at either end by two and three thick iron links respectively. It was soon destroyed but the iron of the links was sufficiently sound for conversion into ploughing implements. Local opinion identified this canoe with the ferry boat of the Columban monastery (NG36NE 2)
W Jolly 1876; NSA 1845 .
In 1874 further drainage operations results in the discovery of a very shallow dug out canoe, 2 1/2' wide, in the W side of the ditch which runs along the W side of the loch, somewhere near the quarry from which the stones for the building of the monastery are said to have come. During the widening of this ditch some 4' of the stern part of the canoe was cut off and thrown up onto the bank. Subsequent examination showed it to be probably of pitch pine although some thought it might be oak. A search for the remainder of the canoe was fruitless but the stern portion is preserved at Capt. Fraser's house near Uig. This canoe is possibly of prehistoric date. (W Jolly 1876)
Visited by OS (C F W) 9 November 1960; NSA 1845; W Jolly 1876.
In 1763 a logboat was revealed during the drainage of Loch Chalum Chille or St Columba's Loch which was formerly situated in a depression about 1km from the sea in the Trotternish district of Skye, and at an altitude of about 15m OD.
The boat was discovered 'deeply imbedded in the bottom of the lake'. It measured about 14' (4.3m) in length by 3' (0.9m) in beam and was 'much stronger and far more firmly built than any of modern date'. The timber was variously identified as 'oak' or 'fir'. Fastened to the ends were five iron rings 'of almost incredible thickness' which were reworked into agricultural implements. The boat itself was destroyed.
NSA 1845; W Jolly 1876; R J C Mowat 1996.
Sources/Archives (3)
- --- SHG1537 Text/Publication/Article: Jolly, W. 1876. 'St Columba's Loch, in Skye, and its ancient canoes', Proc Soc Antiq scot Vol. 11 1874-6, p.551-61. Proc Soc Antiq scot. 551-61. 553-5, 559-61.
- --- SHG2548 Text/Publication/Volume: Mowat, R J C. 1996. The logboats of Scotland, with notes on related artefact types. 55, 111, 120, 135, no. 94; tab. 1.
- --- SHG2597 Text/Publication/Volume: NSA. 1845. The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy. Vol. 14, Inverness-shire, 267.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
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Record last edited
Jan 28 2008 12:00AM
