MHG2665 - Kerb Cairn - Urchany (Allt na Criche)
Summary
Ruined kerb burial cairn, Urchany (Allt na Criche)
Type and Period (1)
- KERB CAIRN (Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC? to 551 BC?)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
On a knoll and within a field system ( NH 44 NE10) are the remains of a cairn measuring about 9.0m in diameter and about 0.5m high. A kerb of eleven contiguous stones survives around the SW arc. The N and E arcs of the cairn are encroached upon by a depopulation steading. Divorced survey at 1/10,000 scale.
Visited by OS (R L) 17 March 1970 <1>
The North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NoSAS) undertook an archaeological survey of Urchany in 2015. A number of probable burial cairns/cists were recorded.
Site C84; Kerbed Burial Cairn. On the western edge of the Alt na Criche settlement (see MHG23303), and partially overlain by one of its enclosure walls, is an oval bowl shaped mound, 8m x 6m x max 1.5m high, aligned NS. On the W and SW aspects of this mound are 9 large stones acting as a kerbed revetment of the mound. At the top, just to S of mid-point, is a pit approximately 1m diameter, and approx. 0.6m deep representing an intrusive excavation at some time in the past. It is of interest that, despite the need for building stone for the adjacent buildings, the kerb stones were left untouched. This has the appearance of a kerbed burial cairn, possibly Bronze Age. It is marked as “cairn” on modern ordnance survey maps (but not identified on the 1st or 2nd edition OS maps). <2>
NGR adjusted based on 2009 aerial photographs. <3>
Sources/Archives (3)
- <1> SHG2673 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of North-east Inverness, Inverness District, Highland Region. . 11, No. 46.
- <2> SHG28596 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Spencer-Jones, R.. 2020. A NoSAS Survey of the Lands of Urchany: A Multi-period Settlement on the Braes West of Beauly: 6th-10th April 2015. North of Scotland Archaeological Society. Digital. p.20, Site C84, Figures 29,30. XY
- <3> SHG27382 Image/Photograph(s)/Aerial Photograph/Vertical: Get Mapping. 2009. Getmapping aerial photography 2009.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 4560 4546 (12m by 12m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH44NE |
| Civil Parish | KILMORACK |
| Geographical Area | INVERNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (1)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/12357 (View HES Canmore entry for this site)
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