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MHG63123 - Cup marked stone - Cairn, 500m south of Admiral's Farm, Edderton

Summary

A cup marked stone in the remains of a probable burial cairn on its south east side.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

About 500m south of Admirals Farm, are the remains of a kerb cairn, which hss on its south east side what appears to be the remains of a small false portal formed by an outlying southern flanker and a cupmarked stone. The nearby kerbstones to the north and cupmarked stone have been disturbed and the other possible flanker of the portal is missing. From the cairn's centre a survey showed the cupmarked stone was in line with the rising sun in late October and January. This was confirmed at 8:45am on 31 October 2005. <1>

This may be one of the "small cairns" referred to in MHG8061. <2>

This cup marked stone was recorded as part of the ScRAP (Scotland’s Rock Art project) by members of NoSAS in November 2019. The panel lies about 500m south of Admiral's Farm on the northeast facing slope overlooking the Dornoch Firth. The panel is a small stone which is one of the remaining stones of a possible kerb cairn. The cairn is about 15m across and is visible as a slight bank of stones approximately 0.25m high and 1m wide. The majority of the stones are now covered with turf. There are several visible stones of a similar size to the cup marked stone around the southeast arc of the bank of the cairn, and one large boulder on the southwest. There is very little stone inside the bank but there is a single large boulder outside the bank on the east side directly opposite the cup marked stone. Within the bank of the cairn are about a dozen Scots pines of varying size and age, and one large tree lies just to the north of the cup marked stone. The ground around the cairn is rough grazing, with a large conifer plantation about 50m to the south and a recently clear felled plantation to the west beyond the nearby track. The track is probably used for forestry access at present but would have been used as a farm track and to access the Struie road (B9176) in the past. A footpath is signed from the track across the rough grazing about 12m to the north of the cairn and east to Rhainich Farm. There are many hut circles within sight of the cairn. <3>

The panel is a small, roughly circular stone measuring 0.6 0.6m, set into the bank of the kerb cairn. It seems possible that the stone has been moved from its original position for reuse in the kerb cairn. The upper surface iof the stone features a single cup on its NE slope. On the day of the visit the stone was completely covered with a considerable collection of empty polythene bags and the remains of a fallen tree. The bags may have been from the planting of the nearby conifer plantation but possibly from the nearby farm. These were replaced after recording and the measuring of the stone was approximate due to the rubbish. There were no poly bags on the rest of the cairn. <3>

Note; location based on photographs.

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 6936 8231 (14m by 15m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH68SE
Geographical Area	ROSS AND CROMARTY
Civil Parish	EDDERTON

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Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

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