Scheduled Monument

Kilmartin Churchyard, tombstones and Neil Campbell TombSM13316

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
10/09/2013
Last Date Amended
28/01/2025
Type
Crosses and carved stones: sculptured stone (not ascribed to a more specific type), Ecclesiastical: burial ground, cemetery, graveyard
Local Authority
Argyll And Bute
Parish
Kilmartin
NGR
NR 83463 98830
Coordinates
183463, 698830

Description

The monument is a churchyard containing a collection of carved stones dating from the early Christian period (from the 9th century AD or possibly earlier) through to the early modern period. Stones from the early Christian, medieval, post-Reformation and later period are distributed throughout the churchyard. In addition, stones have been gathered together into collections in two locations on site, housed within later enclosures situated in the graveyard. The largest group comprises 23 stones housed in the converted 17th-century Neil Campbell burial aisle, now called the 'lapidarium'. The burial enclosure of the Malcolm family of Poltalloch (commonly known as the 'Poltalloch enclosure') houses a further group of seven burial monuments, including a pair of medieval effigies, medieval grave slabs and two post-Reformation monuments. The churchyard is sub-rectangular in shape, measuring around 68m north-south by 50m east-west and is situated on a spur on the east side of the Kilmartin Valley overlooking the glen.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan. It includes the remains described above and an area around them in which evidence relating to their construction and use is expected to survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes: all burial lairs where rights of burial still exist; the upper 300mm of all surfaced or gravelled modern paths; the above-ground elements of the wall enclosing the burial ground; all burial monuments of 20th-century or later date; the above-ground elements of the timber walkway to the N of the 'Poltalloch enclosure'; and the glass roof-plates of the lapidarium.

 

Statement of National Importance

National Importance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

The monument survives in a good condition. The carved stones and the associated buried deposits demonstrate an impressive chronological development and offer high research potential.

Kilmartin has a long history as an important ecclesiastical centre. The present church dates to 1834-5 and its immediate predecessor was a modest structure of 1798. The earliest documented church building dates to 1601 and the earliest documentary evidence for a church comprises a reference to a vicar's name in 1304. It is highly likely that these were the successors to previous ecclesiastical buildings and the presence of the early Christian carved stones suggests that the site was a focus of religious activity possibly from as early as the 9th century, or even earlier. The carved stones and funerary monuments also demonstrate that the churchyard has remained in use over more than a millennium, until the 20th century. There is, therefore, high potential for the survival of important buried archaeological remains spanning a considerable period of time. It is probable that foundations or features relating to an earlier church (or churches) survive beneath, or close to, the site of the existing church. Burials in the churchyard and beneath the present buildings have the potential to inform our understanding of funerary practices over this extended period, which saw major devotional changes. The skeletal remains can also reveal evidence for changes in health, diet, illness, cause of death, and perhaps the types of activities people undertook during life.

The collection of carved stones at Kilmartin is one of the largest in the West Highlands, with at least 113 recorded stones. The carved stones also have the potential to contribute greatly towards our understanding of West Highland sculpture and religious art, and the character of funerary monuments in general. The largest group of carvings displayed at Kilmartin are graveslabs dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. They consist largely of long tapered slabs of local stone and display a number of motifs typical of West Highland sculpture, such as effigies of both warriors and ecclesiastics, combinations of intricate scrollwork and interlace, and detailed swords with edges and borders defined by dogtooth or nail head patterns, as well as roll mouldings. 

A group of three carved stone crosses recovered from the graveyard, or in the vicinity of the graveyard, formerly housed in the church and since moved to Kilmartin Museum, adds to this interest. These stones comprise an early medieval cross; a fragment of a small cross with the figure of the crucified Christ of 14th- to 15th-century date; and fragments of a larger cross possibly dating to the 16th century. Of particular interest is the larger cross situated which shows the Crucified Saviour on one side and Christ in Majesty on the other. Although the figure of Christ is not unusual in medieval sculpture, this example is extremely unusual in that it is executed in the West Highland tradition.

The monument has an inherent potential to inform our understanding of past funerary and commemorative customs, and of the role stone carvings played in society, as well as early Christian, medieval and post-Reformation sculpture, schools of carving, styles of sculptural ornament and carving techniques.

Contextual characteristics

Kilmartin churchyard is situated in an elevated position, at the head of and overlooking Kilmartin Glen, which has one of the densest concentrations of prehistoric funerary and ritual monuments in Scotland, including burial cairns, standing stones and rock art. It is likely that the early church builders deliberately selected this location for its views across such a significant area.

The rich collection of medieval carved stones at Kilmartin can be compared not only with others across the west of Scotland, such as those at Iona Abbey and nunnery, Oronsay Priory and Kilmodan churchyard, but their style of execution can also be seen in objects such as the Guthrie bell shrine and the Queen Mary harp. As such, the stones have the potential to inform us about the spread of ideas and traditions across different materials and crafts, as well as across geographical areas.

Associative characteristics

Kilmartin Church and churchyard have a significant place in the local community as the burial site of some of its best known characters and families, including the Campbells and the Malcolms. The former manse, built in 1789, stands immediately to the northwest and is now the Kilmartin House Museum. The ancestors of many local people and families lie in the churchyard, and the present church is a significant landmark in the village and glen.

Statement of National Importance

This monument is of national importance as an ecclesiastical site containing one of the finest surviving collections of early Christian, medieval, post-Reformation and later funerary sculpture in Scotland. This monument is particularly important because of its longevity of use over more than a millennium, demonstrating a continuum of Christian worship and funerary and memorial practises through centuries devotional change and developments in memorial and symbolism. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our ability to understand the origin and development of Christian sites, the changing nature of memorial and burial ritual and practise, and developments in sculptural funerary traditions in Argyll and across Scotland.

 

References

Bibliography

The West of Scotland Archaeology Service SMR reference is 4116.

References

Allen, J R (1881b) 'Notice of sculptured stones at Kilbride, Kilmartin, and Dunblane', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 15, 258-60.

Fisher, I (2001) Early Medieval sculpture in the West Highlands and Islands, RCAHMS/SocAntScot Monograph series 1, 149. Edinburgh.

Historic Environment Scotland Properties

Kilmartin Crosses

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/kilmartin-glen-kilmartin-stones

Find out more

Kilmartin Sculptured Stones

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/kilmartin-glen-kilmartin-stones

Find out more

HER/SMR Reference

  • https://www.wosas.net/wosas_site.php?id=4116

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

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Printed: 05/10/2025 00:18