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Balnacraig,long cairn 260m NNW of

A Scheduled Monument in Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside, Aberdeenshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 57.0954 / 57°5'43"N

Longitude: -2.8625 / 2°51'44"W

OS Eastings: 347839

OS Northings: 800819

OS Grid: NJ478008

Mapcode National: GBR WN.71YP

Mapcode Global: WH7N9.0X6H

Entry Name: Balnacraig,long cairn 260m NNW of

Scheduled Date: 31 May 1989

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Source ID: SM4683

Schedule Class: Cultural

Category: Prehistoric ritual and funerary: long cairn

Location: Aboyne and Glen Tanar

County: Aberdeenshire

Electoral Ward: Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside

Traditional County: Aberdeenshire

Description

The monument is a long burial cairn of the Neolithic period, some 5000 years old. It comprises a substantial pile of bare tumbled stones and some turf covered stones, measuring a maximum of 40m long and 2.5m in height. There are the remains of a forecourt 16m across bounded by the remains of "horns" of stone at the E end. The cairn will cover burials and funerary structures. The area to be scheduled measures 50m E-W by 40m transversely, to include the cairn and an area around it in which traces of activity associated with the construction and use of the cairn will survive, as marked in red on the attached map. The modern field wall which crosses the W end of the scheduled area is specifically excluded from the scheduling.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as an example of a rarely preserved monument type, which has the potential to enhance considerably our understanding of prehistoric burial and ceremonial practices. The features of the E end (including the 'horn' of the cairn), where most of the activity would have taken place, are particularly well preserved.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NJ 40 SE 43.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Other nearby scheduled monuments

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