Description

The monument is the remains of a chambered cairn dating from the Neolithic period, probably built between 3800 and 2500 BC. It is visible as a group of upstanding stones that define a chamber to the west and an entrance passage to the east. The cairn lies 180m above sea level, on a prominent knoll near the top of a west facing slope down to the Alt Drioghinn, a small tributary of the River Conon.

The monument is an Orkney-Cromarty type chambered cairn with the chamber and passage aligned east-west. The polygonal chamber is defined by four large upright stones and appears to measure about 4.2m long by 2.7m wide. The entrance passage to the east is defined by two large side slabs on the south and one on the north, and appears to measure about 3.8m long and 1.2m wide. Two low portal stones indicate an entrance from the passage about 1m wide. A large stone about 2.5m long that lies across the inner end of the passage appears to be a displaced lintel.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 30m in diameter, centred on the east end of the chamber, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The monument was first scheduled in 1964, but the documentation does not meet  current standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument has potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, in particular the design and construction of burial monuments. It retains its field characteristics to a marked degree, the large upright stones of the chamber being visually impressive. Chambered cairns are often our main source of evidence for the Neolithic in Scotland, and can  enhance our understanding of Neolithic society and economy, and as well as the nature of burial practices and belief systems. This cairn is one of a group of chambered cairns around the head of the Cromarty Firth which are important surviving components of what would have been a wider prehistoric landscape of settlement, agriculture and ritual. The loss of the monument would diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the meaning and importance of death and burial in prehistoric times and the placing of cairns within the landscape.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Historic Environment Scotland http://www.canmore.org.uk reference number CANMORE ID 12414 (accessed on 26/04/2016).

The Highland Council Historic Environment Record reference is MHG7888 (accessed on 26/04/2016).

Davidson, J L and Henshall, A S 1989, The chambered cairns of Orkney: an inventory of the structures and their contents, Edinburgh.

Henshall, A S 1963, The chambered tombs of Scotland, vol 1. Edinburgh. P 334.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/12414/

HER/SMR Reference

http://her.highland.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MHG7888

Source: Historic Environment Scotland