Duntroon Cave

The cave of Duntroon lies in the valley of Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute in Scotland . It was discovered in 1862 while mining low cliffs that are on the north side of the private road from Duntroon Lodge to Duntrune Castle , approximately 220 m west of the lodge.

The inspection by JR Mapleton showed that the 8.5 m long cave was between 3.0 and 0.9 m wide and decreased in height from 3.4 m to 0.9 m. It was subsequently destroyed. The cave appeared to have been filled with fallen debris, under which human skeletons were discovered. It is said that the bones of a woman were found in a sitting position with those of an infant about 30 cm away. Parts of the bones and skulls of probably six other people were discovered scattered on the cave floor. At the deepest point was a round, flat stone embedded in ash and charcoal, burnt at the edges, which was identified as a stove top. In addition to the human remains, the rubble layer contained the almost entire skeleton of a red deer , many shells and the bones of a large seabird . Flint chips and a block of flint were also recovered.

The relics found in the Duntroon Cave are comparable to those found in the Raschoille Cave near Oban . They document various burials and not the misfortune of a small group of people through a rock fall.

literature

• M. Campbell, M. Sandeman: Mid Argyll: an archaeological survey , Proc Soc Antiq Scot, Vol. 95, 1961-2 No. 81
• The Royal Commission on the Ancient and historical Monuments of Scotland: Kilmartin Prehistoric and Early Historic Monuments. An Inventory of the Monuments Extracted from "Argyll, Volume 6". The Royal Commission on the Ancient and historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh 2008, ISBN 978-1-902419-03-9 , p. 107

swell

• Entry for Duntroon Cave  in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database

Coordinates: 56 ° 6 ′ 17.5 ″  N , 5 ° 32 ′ 19.1 ″  W.