Cist cemetery at Kiloran Bay, Colonsay
As part of the Human Remains Call-off Contract for Historic Scotland, GUARD were asked to make an assessment visit in August 2008 to a site on Colonsay where two cists had been discovered by Liza Mulholland, a member of the public holidaying on the island. The site is located near Kiloran Bay on the north-west coast of the island of Colonsay, and consists of an oval mound measuring approximately 15 m north/south and 10 m east/west.
The two disturbed cists are located in the south-west portion of this mound to the east of a small burn, which runs north down the west side of the mound. The mound is quite distinct from the sand dunes that run to the east of it. There are five other possible cists in addition to the two that have already been disturbed. The uprights of five possible cists are currently projecting from the mound. It is conceivable that these are natural although they appear unlike the natural bedrock that can be seen to the north-west of the site in the small burn. Several possible earthworks are located on top of the mound.
Cist 1
Cist 1, located immediately adjacent to a mound with rabbit burrows, has only been partially excavated. It consisted of four upright stones, 0.37 by 0.59 m on a north/east - south/west alignment. No cut was visible due to the fact that the surrounding area was very disturbed. No further examination of the cist was undertaken. A flat stone broken into three fragments was visible to the north of cist 1 and may have been the capping stone. Sandbags were placed around cist 1 to provide temporary protection.
Cist 2
Cist 2 was mostly covered by sand with only the northern damaged corner exposed. It measured c 0.76 m north/west - south/east and was very unstable. No further investigation took place during the site visit.
The Mound
The surviving mound measures c 15 m north/south by 10 m west/east. It comprises sand overlaid by topsoil and vegetation and its exposed thickness measures up to 0.50 m, though clearly the mound thickens considerably towards its centre. Possible earthworks have been identified on the surface of the mound. It is not clear whether the mound was deliberately constructed to cover the cists or has formed naturally.
Archaeological background
The discovery of two cists, each built of five stones and containing human remains, in the sands of Kiloran Bay (NR 39 98) is mentioned by Martin (1934; WoSAS Site ID: 2767 NR49 NW). The Kiloran Bay sands are centred at NR 403 979. Otherwise no further information is available. WoSAS provide three alternative locations for the discovery and a fourth is given by RCAHMS (NR49NW 15). It is not therefore possible to say whether this new discovery is related or forms part of a separate site.
A cist was reported during improvements on the south-east side of nearby Colonsay House (NR 395 967): the Ordnance Survey Name Book records that in 1846 'a stone coffin and human remains were found' (RCAHMS 1984, no. 42, 57). Further afield on Colonsay, cists have been reported at Machrins (NR 359 934):
'In 1920 a cist "built of loose stones" and containing an unaccompanied inhumation was found in a bunker on the golf course at Machrins; the skeleton was reinterred. The following year quite a number of cists were found, but they were not examined and their precise location is not known. Other burials, of unknown date, are reported to have been found on the farm of Machrins, "below an overhanging rock near the shore" with a fragment of a quern beside them.' (RCAHMS 1984, no 59, 59).
In 1882 three cists were discovered at Uragaig, 120 m north of Creagan farmhouse, on the west side of a knoll overlooking Kiloran Bay. The capstones of the cists are still visible and it is likely that the cists themselves remain intact beneath. This description of the excavation is unusually full for its date and the following account is a summary of the published report.
- This cist, covered by a massive slab (2.08 m by 1.42 m and up to 0.08 m thick), measured 1.17 m in greatest length by 0.6 m internally and 0.6 m in depth and was composed of two side-slabs, overlapping the two end-slabs, and a floor slab. The crouched inhumation of a young person, probably a female, lay on its right side with the head towards the east end facing approximately to the north. A Food Vessel accompanying the burial lay in front of the face.
- The second was similarly constructed, with a substantial slab (2.08 m by 1.37 m and 0.08 m thick) covering a cist measuring 1.07 m by 0.51 m and 0.46 m in depth; on the floor slab the crouched inhumation of a male, aged about fifty, lay on its right side with the head to the east end of the cist. A fragmentary Food Vessel was discovered in front of the face, and a small flint knife was found at the pelvic region among what are described as "the remains of a very open textile fabric".
- The third cist, some 1.2 m south of (1), was covered by a series of slabs and measured about 1.2 m by 0.6 m and 0.5 m internally, with the end-slabs slightly overlapping the side slabs. The contents had been disturbed, but some small fragments of pottery were recovered.