31913: ECC 11 Eilean Chalium Cille – FONT? (Medieval – 1266 AD to 1539 AD)

Summary:

FONT? (Medieval – 1266 AD to 1539 AD)
Fragment of stone bowl or quern

Location:

NB 38552 21182

Full description:

"Situated at the south-east corner of a modern clearance cairn (5.4) the remains of this carved stone dish or quern measure 0.4 x 0.3 metres. Consisting of a scoop or dish 0.2 metres deep in a block of Lewisian gneiss 0.3 metres thick, this artefact has been broken in half at the deepest part of the bowl. Two possible interpretations may be made of this artefact: firstly as a dish quern (a type not seen regularly in the north-west of Scotland); or secondly as a bowl or font. While stone bowls are recorded in the Western Isles, particularly on Norse sites, these tend to be finely fashioned in steatite (soapstone). This artefact is fashioned in Lewisian gneiss, one of the hardest stones available in Europe, and must have required a great deal of effort and skill to form.The proximity of the site of an early Christian church less than 200 metres to the south-west supports the interpretation of this artefact being religious in origin. The second half of this atrefact was not located." (Burgess 2004, 80)

References:

Chris Burgess, Northamptonshire Archaeology. 2004. Northamptonshire Archaeology Archaeological Survey and Evaluation of Eilean Chalium Chille and the Putative Site of the Seaforth Head Castle. Part No Loch Seaforth Head Gazeteer.

Acknowledgement:

Information provided by Western Isles Council Sites & Monuments Record, January 2006.