<< Our Photo Pages >> Port Sonachan - Chambered Cairn in Scotland in Argyll

Submitted by vicky on Sunday, 21 July 2002  Page Views: 6742

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Port Sonachan
Country: Scotland County: Argyll Type: Chambered Cairn

Map Ref: NN050206  Landranger Map Number: 50
Latitude: 56.337488N  Longitude: 5.156271W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3
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Smilemaker visited on 6th Apr 2025 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 5 Access: 3 A great site although not easy access with a substantial wall blocking the direct approach from the track opposite the hotel's pier. If you follow the track to the water tank area, there is easier access across a non-barbed fence. To see the site at its best, go in the late winter or early spring, before the bracken covers any features, particularly the stone lined ?bothy? on the eastern flank. There is a virtual 3D model of the site available HERE

caradoc68 visited on 26th Jan 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.5 Ambience: 5 Access: 3

Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by crannog : OMG!!!!! AMAZING PLACE!!!!! So high up, what a view..... I could have stayed here all day .... difficult to get to, you need sturdy legs and footwear! (and a map!) (Vote or comment on this photo)
Chambered Cairn in Argyll

Heavily robbed remains of a chambered cairn.

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Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by Smilemaker : ... and the view is quite good too! (Vote or comment on this photo)

Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by Smilemaker : There are many intriguing boulders nearby but the hill-top cairn sites still dominates the view. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by Smilemaker : The stone-lined feature on the eastern flank of the cairn, probably a later small bothy. Normally this is under thick bracken in summer/autumn. It took about two hours of gardening to clear most of the bracken-litter on a sunny April morning. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by Smilemaker : The main chamber is open for inspection. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by caradoc68 : Portsonachan. View from bottom of cairn, of the capstone looking up towards the chambered cairn. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Port Sonachan
Port Sonachan submitted by crannog : chambered cairn, it is in a sorry wee state but so very very impressive. The ambience here is 10!!! It almost touches the sky, looks out over the loch on two sides, the hills behind..... AMAZING! WOW!

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"Port Sonachan" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Port Sonachan by caradoc68 on Sunday, 29 January 2012
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On a terrace above the SE shore of Loch Awe and behind the small village of Portsonachan are the denuded remains of a chambered cairn. It is aligned E-W and measures 29.5 metres by 13 metres, but it has been heavily robbed of its stone and a rectangular secondary enclosure has been built on its east end. The chamber measures 3.5 metres by one metre internally, but only its inner (east) end is undisturbed. The innermost side-slabs measure 2.2 and 1.2 metres in length respectively and the end slab at the rear 0.9 metres. The south side-slab measures 0.8 metres above the present floor level. The only other slab on the south side, which stands at the entrance, may be a portal stone, but its partner on the north lies dislodged nearby. To the NW of the chamber, beyond the perimeter of this cairn, are two large slabs which may have been capstones. To the east of the chamber, a single upright slab is visible just protruding through the turf, but the purpose of this slab is not known.
The chamber was excavated in the 1920's but there were no finds (Campbell 1955).
RCAHMS 1975, visited May 1971; M Campbell 1955; A S Henshall 1972.
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