In Search of a Battlefield - 2

Our first search for the burial cairns erected after the Battle of Creag an Airgid in 1519 (see earlier post here) concentrated, as suggested by M E M Donaldson, on the right hand side of the road going out of Kilchoan towards Sanna. Having searched the two large knolls and their associated valleys without success, we moved to the left hand side of the road, where there are several low hills.

This picture shows the gap in the Ardnamurchan volcano ring dyke through which the modern road passes. There is no reason to be certain that this was the route followed by the road that existed in 1519, even though it is the most obvious route to Sanna, Achnaha and Glendrian. If the road passed further west, or if M E M Donaldson was wrong about the location, then the cairns might be to the left of today's road.

This cairn, which is south-west of Creag an Airgid (seen behind it), fits most of the evidence. It's not on a high point, it's well-built, it has a valley immediately to the south which runs NW-SE. However, it doesn't look particularly old, it's some distance removed from the battlefield, and there is no sign of the larger cairn that covered the followers' grave in the valley to the south. So, sadly, we rejected it as the object of our search.

Not far below it, close to the flat land on which the battle took place, is this rock. It reminded The Diary of the executioner's block in the Tower of London, with a slight depression to fit the head, and a groove, not fully visible, to drain away the blood. An irrelevancy: surely this can't have anything to do with the Battle of Creag an Airgid.

A map of the area is here.