The caves of mid Argyll : an archaeology of human use

With contributions of Lindsay Allason-Jones, Ewan Campbell, Gordon Cook, Louisa Gidney and Christopher Young. Caves offer a natural shelter and they often hold evidence of the earliest settlement. Christopher Tolan-Smith set out on a programme of fieldwork on caves and rockshelters in Mid Argyll to answer the question of why settlement on the west coast of Scotland appeared to in Mid Argyll to answer the question of why settlement on the west coast of Scotland appeared to happen later than in the islands. Excavation at several sites suggests that they were not used much before about 2000 BC but that thereafter caves were an important element in the domestic and ritual landscape of south-west Scotland. Their use led to a rich legacy of artefacts and marine shell middens that helps to illuminate life in Argyll over four millennia. Preface viii List of contributors ix Acknowledgements x Foreign language summaries xi List of illustrations xiv List of tables xvi 1. Cave archaeology in Argyll 1 2. St. Columba's Cave, El1ary 25 3. Ellary Boulder Cave and Rockshelter 73 4. The Tinkler's Cave, Lochgilphead 149 5. The human use of caves in south-west Scotland 165 Appendices 171 References 176 Index 183