History

The sculptured stones at Kilmartin Glen are grouped into two separate displays in the graveyard.

The Campbell burial aisle, built for Bishop Neil Campbell of the Aisles (d. 1627), is home to the largest group of stones.

Its highlights are the West Highland graveslabs from the 1300s or 1400s. These long, tapering stones feature:

intricate scrollwork and interlace
figures of warriors and clerics
elaborate crosses and swords

Most are carved in a style common to this area of Argyll, with the stone probably brought from quarries around Loch Awe.

Seven memorials also lie in the ‘Poltalloch Enclosure’, built for the Malcolms of Poltalloch in the 1700s. All but one are inscribed ‘POLTALLOCH’. They comprise:

three West Highland grave-slabs of the 1300s or 1400s
two medieval effigies of warriors wielding spears and swords
two tombstones from the 1600s

The Kilmartin Crosses

Please note that the three crosses which were on display inside the church have been relocated to the Kilmartin Museum.

A prehistoric landscape

A rich prehistoric landscape survives in Kilmartin Glen, providing a tantalising insight into its prehistoric population. The surviving rock art along the glen is remarkable for the number of elaborately carved outcrops, the style of and extent of the carvings, and their close association with other prehistoric monuments. No other place in Scotland has such a concentration of prehistoric carved stone surfaces, and Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments.

Other carved rock outcrops around Kilmartin Glen include:

Other monuments include: