Description

The monument is a prehistoric burial cairn, likely to date to the Early Bronze Age and surviving as a roughly circular, heather-covered stony mound. It lies in heather moorland on the W bank of the Riereach Burn, within an area of prehistoric hut-circles and field systems.

The cairn measures 8.5 m in diameter and about 0.8 m high. It is edged by an almost continuous kerb of boulders, each up to 0.8 m across. One kerbstone is absent and one has tumbled downslope. The interior mound of stones appears to be undisturbed and there is a slab measuring 0.5 m by 0.3 m visible in the surface at the centre of the cairn, which may form part of a central burial cist.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the cairn, to include the visible remains and an area around in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

The monument's archaeological significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics: The monument appears to be in an unusually good state of preservation. It is upstanding and clearly visible in the landscape. Despite a degree of apparent collapse and erosion, the kerb and interior stones of the cairn appear to be substantially intact and it is therefore likely that its structure preserves high-quality archaeological deposits relating to prehistoric burial rites, as well as sealing evidence for the earlier environment.

Contextual characteristics: Comparing and contrasting this cairn to nearby cairns and others outside the region can create an understanding of regional identity and society. The monument forms an intrinsic part of the group of prehistoric landscape features flanking the Riereach Burn and is visually prominent within it.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is an upstanding prehistoric burial cairn, probably belonging to the early Bronze Age, with the potential to reveal much about funerary practice in the prehistoric communities of NE Scotland. It has the potential to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of prehistoric society in this locality and, by association, the rest of Scotland. The loss of the monument would affect our future ability to appreciate and understand the prehistoric landscape and its inhabitants.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the monument as NH84NW 16. It is recorded in the Highland Council SMR as NH64NW0016.

References:

RCAHMS 1978, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MONUMENTS OF NAIRN DISTRICT, HIGHLAND REGION, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series No.5, 9 No 23, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland