Kilmartin House Museum of Ancient Culture
Argyll
Kilmartin House Museum of Ancient Culture, housed in a former eighteenth century manse, lies in the centre of a rich variety of archaeological sites and is one of the most important sites in Scotland. Situated on the west coast in a spectacular glen just north of Lochgilphead in Argyll the museum is surrounded by over 150 sites within a six mile radius. In 1992 the building was purchased by David and Rachel Clough to live in and convert into a museum. A charitable trust was founded two years later and with the aid of a grant of £823,000 from the HLF for phase 1 of the restoration and five staff for 18 months, the museum opened in May 1997 and has subsequently won many prestigious awards. It has become an important centre for local knowledge and preservation of the natural environment, interpretation and display, and the collection contains objects from the immediate locality and loans from the British Museum, the National Museum of Scotland and the local antiquarian society and individuals. Visiting craftsmen, musicians, artists and scholars contribute to the continual development of the museum and the activities it offers. At the inception of the Trust a full time education officer was appointed (it was one of the first independent museums in Scotland to do so) and two years later Scottish Natural Heritage contributed towards the officerıs salary.
With 16,000 visitors last year the museum and the surrounding sites (which are open all year) act as an inspirational and unique opportunity to explore a multitude of different aspects of ancient life through the study of the artefacts and the landscape. Run by a small team and trained volunteers the site houses an impressive library and facilities for the local community and resident (self-catering) visiting research students to enable them to work on specific projects. Educational activities are constantly developed, such as their involvement, the only museum in Scotland who are, in Opening the Doors (an experimental project offering residential courses based on participation in the museumıs resources and activities and aimed at attracting young people from 14-24 who are unemployed and not in education into the museums service). They also hold various other programmes such as a National Poetry Day, a Highland Archaeology Week, Art on the Rocks and a childrenıs environmental and archaeological club, Great Auks.
On arrival visiting school and adult groups are offered an audio-visual film introducing the landscape and monuments and tours of the museum are available. Activities include artefact handling, simulated dig, fire-making, spinning and weaving and a tomb raider tour.
High quality literature is of immense importance to Kilmartin and museum and site activity books are available from the specialist bookshop. An exceptional, well illustrated guide book (which won the Scottish Museum Publication of the year in 2000) is available which follows the route of the vista and is suitable for all visitors.
A video-conferencing facility is especially useful for schools and teachers for research given the geographical difficulties of the site itself and is particularly useful for remotely situated Scottish schools. It offers, for instance, virtualı visits to the sites and sessions for handling the artefacts. Special exhibitions are held regularly. IC
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