For Argyll

Hylda Marsh and Bev Langdon, two amateur historical detectives from Mull, have tracked down ruins at Baliscate above Tobermory which turn out to be an unrecorded early Christian chapel.

Inspired by an open evening in April 2007 run by Scotland’s Rural Past - which supports rural communities in investigating ruined local settlements, the two women got hold of aerial photographs of Baliscate.

They felt that, on the evidence they had, there must be archaeological evidence there of a previous settlement. They got the photographs from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) which sponsors the Scotland’s Rural Past project.

To reach the hilltop at Baliscate, they had to cross boggy fields, two burns and then scramble up a steep bank through bracken and thorn. But when they got to the place they were aiming at, they found two overgrown low ruins, each about forty feet square.

They told RCAHMS of their findings and in March this year a team of experts from the Commission came to Mull to survey the discovery. The pattern of the ruin, with an east-west orientation and an entrance in the north wall conforms to what would be expected of the several early chapels in Mull, with its proximity to the holy Isle of Iona and St Columba’s monastery there.

The RCAHMS team are convinced that the ruin is of an early Christian chapel, dating from the fifth to the tenth century. Among the ruins was found a dish-shaped stone which had clearly been worked. It is thought that it may have been filled with oil, serving as a lamp.

Once Hylda and Bev knew it might be a church they dived back into research. They combed records at Mull Museum for references to a church at Baliscate. The museum curator then found for them the transcript of an oral history recording made some years ago. In this conversation there were references to folklore which suggested that there had been a church on the hill at Baliscate.

There is unlikely to be a dig at the site. RCAHMS focus on surveying and recording. Their purpose is to identity and preserve, not to excavate.

A foot note to the story is that Scotland’s Rural Past has been shortlisted for best project in Channel 4’s British Archaeological Awards. The ceremony to announce the winners will be held on Monday 10th November.