MHG32414 - Cist Burial - Holm Mains

Summary

No summary available.

Type and Period (1)

  • SHORT CIST (Early Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 1501 BC) + Sci.Date

Protected Status

  • None recorded

Full Description

Two cist burials were identified during construction work at Holm Mains Farm in 2003 and both were subsequently excavated by Headland Archaeology. This, the easternmost of the two, was a well-constructed cist built of large stone slabs with a pressed pebble floor and a single, massive capstone. It contained the robust remains of an individual male placed in a crouched position. The burial was accompanied by two barbed and tanged arrowheads, ten further lithic tools and fragments of a finely decorated beaker. Outlying features comprised several pits and ditches, located near to the cists but which produced no artefacts to aid with dating and there was nothing to link these discoveries to the two cists. See MHG32415 for other cist burial. <1>

The arrowheads and knife were photographed at Inverness Museum in 2013 by members of the ARCH Hilton Local Heritage course. <2>

Radiocarbon dates for the human skeletal material in both cists were obtained and published in 2006 as part of the Beaker People Project: Scottish Samples. These were 2210-2050 BC and 2270-2060 BC calibrated to 1 sigma, indicating Early Bronze Age dates. <3>

The excavation assemblage was submitted to Treasue Trove (TT 40/08) and allocated to Inverness Musem. <4>

Sources/Archives (4)

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred NH 6563 4147 (4m by 4m) (2 map features)
Map sheet NH64SE
Civil Parish INVERNESS AND BONA
Geographical Area INVERNESS

Finds (6)

  • BEAKER (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
  • BARBED AND TANGED ARROWHEAD (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
  • KNIFE (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
  • HUMAN REMAINS (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (1)

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