Description

The monument comprises a ring cairn, and a cup marked boulder. The outer ring of the cairn is 14m in diameter and is marked by earthfast boulders. The inner ring, which is concentric, measures 10m in diameter and is clearly defined by thin slabs set on edge. There is no clearly defined entrance. The monument is a ceremonial or burial site of the late Neolithic/earlier Bronze Age, some 4000 years old.

The cup marked rock is probably of similar age and comprises a large free-standing boulder 2.1m long by 1.7m wide amd 1m high, bearing three small cup marks on its upper horizontal surface. The area to be scheduled around the ring cairn measures 40m in diameter, to include

the ring cairn and an area around it in which activity associated with its use will survive, and the area to be scheduled around the cup marked rock measures 10m in diameter, to include the rock and an area around it in which traces of activity associated with its use

might survive.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The ring cairn is of national importance as a well preserved example of a type of small but complex ceremonial or funerary site of the late Neolithic/earlier Bronze Age, which has the potential to enhance considerably our understanding of ritual and burial practices in prehistory. The cup marked boulder is of importance because of its close proximity to the ring cairn and to two other cup marked rocks in the vicinity; the presence of the cup marked rocks enhances the significance of the ring cairn as a ritual monument.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NN 84 NW 24.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland