Statement of National Importance
Cultural Significance
The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:
Intrinsic characteristics
The monument is in good condition and a fine example of a prehistoric standing stone, despite possibly not being in its original position. On the basis of the results of investigations at comparable monuments, standing stones such as this typically derive from the third or second millennium BC. It may also be a good example of re-use of a monument in more recent times. The stone is incorporated within a bank of turf and stone, most likely composed of material excavated during the construction of the adjacent road. It is common for large boulders to be broken up and used in the foundation of roughly metalled roads, but this monolith appears instead to have been preserved and re-erected, demonstrating that the stone also held value and meaning for people in more recent times.
Contextual characteristics
Standing stones are a widespread class of monument across Scotland with notable concentrations in Dumfries and Galloway, the Western and Northern Isles, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and Caithness, as well as in Argyll where there are over 90 examples. They are often the surviving remains of what were originally larger stone monuments, either as outliers or as components of stone circles or alignments. In Argyll, however, the majority survive as single monoliths.
The locations of standing stones appear, in many instances, to have been chosen to take advantage of natural routeways and views, and for their inter-visibility with other monuments. They are often visible from a considerable distance, perhaps marking a significant area or territory. Many appear to have been located with reference to ritual or burial monuments in the vicinity, such as henges, stone circles and cairns, and it is likely that the standing stones played a part in ceremonial or ritual activities. It has also been argued that the position of some standing stones and similar contemporary monuments often coincides with observation lines to the rising or setting points of the sun or the moon on a distant horizon at key dates in the year, for example, at winter solstice.
Although the standing stone at Lochgilphead Cemetery is likely to have been repositioned and may no longer be in its original socket, it is unlikely to have been moved far. It is located within an exceptionally rich prehistoric landscape, which is studded with important archaeological remains along the higher slopes of the valley, including a number of funerary and ceremonial monuments such as burial cairns and cup-and-ring marked rocks. Another standing stone is located about 200m N of the standing stone at Lochgilphead Cemetery, also on the line of the road. Further study of the prehistoric monuments in this area could add to our knowledge of the way in which prehistoric society may have used different parts of the landscape. That this stone, and another stone to the N, may both have been re-positioned along a routeway in early modern times may also be of interest in showing some continuity of function.
Associative characteristics
The traditional name of this stone is the rather evocative 'Stane Alane' (stone alone). It is recorded as a standing stone in this position on the first edition Ordnance Survey map.
National Importance
This monument is of national importance because it is a well-preserved example of a standing stone, a ritual or ceremonial monument dating to the third or second millennium BC. It forms part of a rich wider landscape of prehistoric monuments, many of them funerary or ceremonial in function. The monument has the potential to enhance our understanding of social and ceremonial activities, and the beliefs of the prehistoric people that built and used these sites. The standing stone also has the potential to inform our knowledge about the value attributed to such monuments in more recent times, perhaps showing some continuity of function in marking a routeway. The loss of this example would impede our ability to understand the nature of early prehistoric belief and ritual, both in Argyll and Scotland.