MHG411 - Long Cist, Stain
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (2)
- LONG CIST (Early Iron Age to Early Medieval - 550 BC to 1057 AD)
- BURIAL GROUND (Early Iron Age to Early Medieval - 550 BC to 1057 AD)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
A long-cist cemetery occupying a 300 yd long sandy mound, and comparable with Ackergill(ND35SW 12) and other cemeteries of the pre-Viking Iron Age. (See also ND36SW 21)
S Laing 1866; Name Book 1872; NMAS 1892; A J H Edwards 1926; P Ashmore 1981.
There is neither trace nor local knowledge of these cists.
Visited by OS 8 September 1965
This site was re-appraised along with the other cemetery sites in the area using Society of Antiquaries of Scotland manuscripts, and published sources, by Anna Ritchie. <1>
17 stone implements, a fragment of a dog’s jaw bone and limpet shells from Stain, Keiss were donated to the NMS by Samuel Laing in 1865 (GJ 156- GJ 173). It is unclear if they are related to the long-cist cemetery identified in this area as they are only described as from 'Stain, Keiss, Caithness'. Further investigation is needed. <2>
The NMS contains 5 human skulls from 'the Burial Mound, Keiss' which is assumed to be this site. The skulls were presented to the NMS in 1867 by Samuel Laing and are accessioned under numbers ET 56- ET 60. <3> <4>
One of the skulls (no.5, ET 59) has undergone DNA analysis. Another has been radiocarbon dated (no. 7) and this will be published in 2020 volume of DES. <5> <4>
The 7 sets of human remains discovered during Samuel Laing's investigations of the Burial Mound, Keiss are described by anatomist T.H. Huxley. <6> <7>
Sources/Archives (12)
- --- Text/Publication/Article: Ashmore, P J. 1981. 'Low cairns, long cists and symbol stones', Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Volume 110, 1978-80. 346-55. 350.
- --- Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Batey, C E. 1984. Caithness Coastal Survey 1980-82: Dunnet Head to Ousdale. University of Durham, Department of Archaeology. 30/01/1984. Digital (scanned as PDF). WIC 116.
- --- Text/Publication/Volume: NMAS. 1876. Catalogue of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. 88.
- --- Text/Publication/Volume: Name Book (County). Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. Book No. 32, 196.
- --- Text/Publication/Article: Edwards, A J H. 1926. 'Excavation of a number of graves in a mound at Ackergill, Caithness', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 60 1925-6, p.160-82. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 160-82. 173.
- <1> Text/Publication/Article: Ritchie, A.. 2011. Cemeteries of platform cairns and long cists around Sinclair's Bay, Caithness. Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 141. 125-143. Digital.
- <2> Dataset/Database File: National Museums Scotland. 2019. Highland Finds from the NMS Catalogue. National Museums Scotland. Digital. GJ 156- GJ 173.
- <3> Dataset/Database File: 2020. Database of Human Remains in Museum Collections from Highland Area. NMS, IMAG & Marishal College. Digital.
- <4> Text/Correspondence: 2020. Correspondance with Matthew Knight Regarding Human Remains in NMS Collections.
- <5> Text/Publication/Article: Sheridan. A, et al (25 others). 2018. A summary round-up list of Scottish archaeological human remains that have been sampled/analysed for DNA as of January 2019, Discovery Excav Scot, New Series, Volume 18. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. 1-23. Online. pp. 19.
- <6> Text/Publication/Article: Stuart, J.. 1866-68. Notice of Letters addressed to Captain Shand, R.A., by Professor Thorkelin and General Robert Melvill, on Roman Antiquities in the North of Scotland, 1788-1790. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 26-34. Online.
- <7> Text/Publication/Volume: Laing, S. 1866. Pre-historic remains of Caithness. 30-6; illust.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred ND 3440 6025 (6m by 6m) (Buffered by site type) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | ND36SW |
| Civil Parish | WICK |
| Geographical Area | CAITHNESS |
Finds (3)
- MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Undated)
- HUMAN REMAINS (Pictish to Early Medieval - 300 AD? to 1057 AD?)
- UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Undated)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/9354 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
- https://mathcs.clarku.edu/huxley/Book/Caith.html (Link to description of human remains from Keiss by Huxley)
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