MHG45836 - Cup Marked Stone - Stoneyfield Kerb Cairn
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- CUP MARKED STONE (Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC? to 551 BC?)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
See NH64NE0721 for relocated site. JW 2/12/99
Now at NH 68787 45086. Original location under modern A9 at NH 6878 4549 - "Cairn Circle" shown on OS 1:10,000, map, (1971)
JW 16/6/02
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NH64NE 6 6878 4549.
(NH 6878 4549) Cairn Circle (NR)
OS 1:10,000, map, (1971)
At Stoneyfield are the remains of a Clava-type cairn. All that remains is the major part of an impressive cairn kerb, 58' indiameter. The cairn itself and the internal structure have been removed, though when seen by Anderson (J Anderson 1831) in about 1824 the cairn seems to have been fairly complete. The stones forming the kerb are massive boulders, the largest being on the SW arc - the tallest, a leaning stone at the S end of this arc, 4'9" high - and other stones are 4'6" to 4'3" high. The stones in the NE arc are 1'9" to 2'9" high. Many stones have fallen inwards or outwards but have not been disturbed, and several have been reduced by blasting. There is no sign, nor it there any record, of monoliths which may once have surrounded the cairn.
In 1760 two stone circles were recorded at Stoneyfield. (a, b) (This feature was first published on OS 6"map as "Stone Circle").
A S Henshall 1963; R Pococke 1887; NSA (A Rose, A Clark and R Macpherson) 1845, G Anderson 1831; J Fraser 1884; Visited by OS (W D J) 30 March 1960.
The excavation of this cairn in 1972-3 revealed that beneath it there had been a rectangular timber building, 9.5m long with a central stone hearth, probably associated with a series of pits containing Grooved Ware. The cairn itself consisted of a heavy stone kerb with traces of an external stone platform on the W; in the central area there was a series of pits and cists, some of them contemporary with the cairn, some later. Several of the pits contained cremations, and in one of the cists there was a Food Vessel. A Cordoned Urn with a cremation had also been deposited in the cairn. Other articles found included a cup-marked stone, a 2nd century Roman brooch, and a sherd of coarse ware.
A S Henshall 1963; D D A Simpson 1973, 1974; RCAHMS 1979.
The kerb of this cairn was re-erected at NH 6878 4508 in advance of a new road, which now occupies the original site.
Resurveyed at 1:1250.
Visited by OS 26 January 1979.
The full excavation report of the 1972-3 rescue excavation was published in 1996. Pit 9 contained a stone with a single cup mark on its surface. This pit was thought to belong to the first phase of the construction of the site, consisting of pits dug in the first half of the fouth millenium BC. A sample from pit 9 was radiocarbon dated to cal BC 3970-3650 (1 sigma). <1>
Sources/Archives (10)
- --- SHG1320 Text/Publication/Article: Anderson, G. 1831. 'On some of the stone circles and cairns in the neighbourhood of Inverness', Archaeol Scot Vol. 3 1831, p.211-22. Archaeol Scot. 211-22. 215.
- --- SHG2597 Text/Publication/Volume: NSA. 1845. The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy. Vol. 14, Inverness-shire, 15.
- --- SHG2624 Text/Publication/Volume: Kemp, D W (ed.). 1887. Tours in Scotland 1747, 1750, 1760. 104.
- --- 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. 45.
- --- SHG3172 Text/Publication/Article: Romans and Robertson, J C C and L. 1975. Soils and archaeology in Scotland. 37-9. 37-8.
- --- SHG357 Text/Publication/Monograph: Henshall, A S. 1963. The chambered tombs of Scotland, Volume 1. 384, INV 47; plan, fig. 99.
- --- SHG537 Text/Publication/Article: Fraser, J. 1884. 'Descriptive notes on the stone circles of Strathnairn and neighbourhood of Inverness', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 18 1883-4, p.328-62. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 328-62. 358; plan, fig. 24.
- --- SHG948 Text/Publication/Article: Simpson, D D A. 1973. 'Inverness-shire. Raigmore, Inverness', Archaeological Excavations 1972, p.14. Archaeological Excavations. 14. 14.
- --- SHG949 Text/Publication/Article: Simpson, D D A. 1974. 'Inverness-shire. Raigmore, Inverness', Archaeological Excavations 1973, p.109. Archaeological Excavations. 109. 109.
- <1> SHG27994 Text/Publication/Article: Simpson, D D A. 1996. Excavation of a kerbed funerary monument at Stoneyfield, Raigmore, Inverness, Highland, 1972-3. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 53-86.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 6877 4549 (10m by 10m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH64NE |
| Civil Parish | INVERNESS AND BONA |
| Geographical Area | INVERNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/13414 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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