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MHG63109 - Cup marked stone - NE centre, Balnuaran of Clava (1)

Summary

A cup marked stone in a chambered round cairn in the main cairn group at Clava.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A chambered round cairn in the main cairn group at Clava.

NH74SE 1 7576 4447.

The site was Scheduled with the other Clava cairns in 1882.

(Centred NH 75714443) Stone Circles & Cairns (OE) (Urns containing calcined bones found)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1906)

Clava passage-grave (Balnuaran of Clava, North-east) The cairn lies only 123 feet to the north-east of the central cairn, in the middle of the Clava cemetery.
Cupmarks occur on the innermost stone of the passage on the north-west side (W Jolly 1882) and also on a stone on the north side of the kerb
(S Piggott 1956). The former stone has certainly four and possibly seven simple cups; the latter, which measures 2 feet 8 inches by 1 foot 5 inches, is covered with cupmarks, one cup and ring meandering lines.
A S Henshall, Visited 15 April 1957; W Jolly 1882; J Fraser 1884; C Innes 1862; S Piggott 1956. <1>-<5>

NH 7576 4447 The remains of this cairn are as described above.
Revised at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (W D J) 25 April 1962.

Air photographs of the Balnuaran of Clava cairns taken by Jill Harden in 1989, are in Inverness Museum (8901.21-22 and 8907.02 INVMG). Information from J Harden 1989.

Possible cup-marked stone removed from site over past year. Reported and Hyperlinked photos by D Scott.
A M Fox, Highland Council, 14.03.02

Jim Bone AP 2003 - HAW 10/2003

Site visited and photographed by Angela Lake, 23/9/2003. The Highland Archaeology Challenge. See Assoc. Docs. File for notes and plan.
J Aitken : 22/1/2004

A photograph of this cairn showing the kerb was submitted to the Highland HER Flickr group in June 2011 by "CaptainOates". <7>

The cairn was re-scheduled together with the other cairns in the group by Historic Environmnet Scotland in 2016. <8> <9>

Radiocarbon dates were obtained as part of the archaeological investigations by Bradley, and were published in his 2000 publication. They indicate that the cairn was built in the Early Bronze Age. <1>

This panel was recorded as part of the ScRAP (Scotland’s Rock Art project) by members of NoSAS in August 2018. This panel is part of the complex of monuments at Clava ('Clava cairns'), well known and much frequented by visitors. There is a car park and interpretation. It is located on a level river terrace to the SE of the river Nairn, in the flat bottom of the SW to NE valley. It is located high up in the N wall of the chamber of the NE cairn.

This panel is one of the stones which make up the wall of the chamber of the northeast cairn. It is a slab of sandstone, visibly 0.6m x 0.15m thick, and of unknown depth into the wall. On its flat upper surface is one distinct cup and one other possible cup. The stones above this panel are loose and may not be in their original positions. One stone partly obscures the cup. The Good Stones: A New Investigation of the Clava Cairns, Richard Bradley, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series Number 17, Edinburgh 2000 illus 37 p37 shows a cup mark high up in this wall, but not in this location. This panel was discovered whilst searching for the reported cup which was not located. <10>

NGR adjusted based on 2020 vertical aerial photographs. <11>

Sources/Archives (38)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 7576 4447 (5m by 6m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH74SE
Civil Parish	CROY AND DALCROSS
Geographical Area	INVERNESS

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (3)