MHG45415 - St. Columba's Chapel and Burial Ground, Eilean Chaluim-Chille
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- CHAPEL (Undated)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
See also:
NG44SE0093 Graveyard
JA itken : 10/12/02
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NG44SE 3 4847 4222.
(NG 4847 4222) Chapel (NR) (Remains of)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)
In the inner bay of Portree, formerly called Loch Columkille, is a small island still called Eilean Columkille. It is nearly covered with stones, which were spread upon it for the drying of sea-wrack, and kilns for burning kelp, so that the soil is nearly hidden. However, the traces of graves, and of a small building standing E-W amy be discerned; and some old people remember one or two interments on the islet (Adamnan 1857). The building, a church bearing the name of St. Columba, is a simple oblong chamber, 26ft long by 16ft wide, the walls being roughly 2ft 7ins at the sides and 3ft 6ins at the gable ends (RCAHMS 1928).
Adamnan 1857; RCAHMS 1928.
St. Columba's Chapel exists as described by RCAHMS, and it has in, addition, a doorway 1.5m wide in the W end of the N Wall. The walls are reduced to turf covered first and second courses of irregular shaped boulders with no obvious trace of mortar. Condition: poor.
Visited by OS (C F W) 20 April 1961.
Excavation of this chapel demonstrated a wall of earth and stone construction (1m in thickness) enclosing an area 6m E-W by 3.5m N-S. An entrance 1.2m in width lay near the W end of the N wall, and a platform base for the altar at the E end. Finds deposited with Skye and Lochalsh Museums Service (Acc No: 1988-4).
R Miket 1988.
A 17th or 18th century bronze weight cup from Nuremburg, found during excavations, is in the Skye of Lochalsh Archive Centre along with pottery sherds, under Acc. No. 1988.4. <1>
Sources/Archives (4)
- --- SHG1536 Text/Publication/Article: Miket, R. 1988. 'St Columba's chapel (Portree parish)', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1988, p.16. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. 16. 16.
- --- SHG1874 Text/Publication/Volume: Reeves, W (ed). 1857. Vita Sancti Columbae: auctore Adamnan Monasterii Hiensis Abbate (The Life of St Columba, founder of Hy). 139.
- --- SHG2656 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1928. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Ninth report with inventory of monuments and constructions in the Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles. . 177, No. 571.
- <1> SHG28408 Text/Record Form/Project Recording Form: Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH). 2019. Finds Collection at Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre. 1988.4.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NG 4850 4222 (40m by 40m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NG44SE |
| Geographical Area | SKYE AND LOCHALSH |
| Civil Parish | PORTREE |
Finds (2)
- SHERD (Undated)
- WEIGHT (17th Century to 18th Century - 1601 AD to 1800 AD)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/11304 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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