The excavation of the mound at Kirkapol has been completed and the ground returned to its previous state. Many Tiree residents and visitors joined the professional archaeologists in the dig, and they made some wonderful findings. Dr John Holliday has written a short report on the excavation for An Iodhlann’s website. You can read it here.
For daily updates on the excavation of the ‘Giant’s grave’ at Kirkapol, please refter to our Facebook page
What will we find? September sees an exciting community archaeological dig at Cnoc an Fhuamhaire ‘the hillock of the giant’ in Kirkapol. Rather than being a giant’s grave, however, archaeologists think that it might be a Viking boat grave. These are very rare in Scotland, and if proven to be true, would be a significant find.
An Iodhlann has put together a project to investigate the mound from 2-16 September 2017. Led by archaeologists Dr Heather James and Dr Colleen Batey, the project will include a geophysics survey of the area followed by a careful dig. This will be a community project, and anyone prepared to give up part of a day or a week will be welcome, and given training in excavation. Or you could just come and have a look. The school will also be involved. If you’d like to help out, contact Dr John Holliday (01879 220385 ; ).
The project is funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund (£10,000), the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (£2,000), An Iodhlann (£1,500) and the Tiree Community Windfall Fund (£500). An Iodhlann is also grateful to Fiona MacKinnon and Argyll estates for permission to dig their land.
An Iodhlann now has a Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/aniodhlann/ for items of interest, events, changes to opening hours, and chat.
We have created two new displays in An Iodhlann. One is about Lady Victoria Campbell, the Duke of Argyll’s sister, who spent some time living on Tiree in the late 1800s, organising skills workshops and classes for islanders and championing improvements to the island. Our other new exhibition is about Tiree postcards (it’s a lot more interesting than it sounds).
And admission to An Iodhlann is now FREE!
Lady Victoria Campbell (1854-1910)
An Iodhlann’s 2nd Historical Ceilidh, 17th May, An Iodhlann, 7.30pm. Dr Holliday will begin the session by talking about the Crofters’ War of 1886, a local agitation that contributed to the creation of the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886. But this isn’t a lecture – everyone is welcome to chip in with their own ideas or pet subjects.
An Iodhlann has just heard that the Written in the Landscape project, led by Argyll and Bute Council Archives and the Argyll Papers at Inveraray Castle, will be starting very soon. The funding gap has been completed and Inverary Archives is about to advertise two project archivist posts.
Click here to find out more: written in landscape update Apr2017
In 2015, a hoard of Bronze Age swords and spears were discovered on the Isle of Coll. They are now being cared for by Kilmartin Museum, but need additional funding to conserve them for future generations of history enthusiasts. If you can help, please click on the image for further information.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has granted An Iodhlann £10,000 to organise the excavation of what is thought to be a Bronze Age, or even Viking, grave at Kirkapol. The excavation will be led by professional archaeologists who will be looking for assistance from local volunteers. Watch this space for more information…
