MHG7194 - Cairn with cist - Kinsteary
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (2)
- CAIRN (Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC? to 551 BC?)
- CIST (Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC? to 551 BC?)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
Stone Circles (NR) Stone Coffin found AD 1903 (NAT) OS 6" map (1959)
A cairn described as being surrounded by a "ditch and vallum and with a stone row extending from it in a SE direction". Cairn excavated in 1903 by Young and found to contain a cist. Previous to excavation the cairn was a grass-grown mound surrounded by a ring of stones but digging showed the mound was only partly artificial composed of round stones, the base being a natural sandbank in which the unpaved cist 2' 5" by 1' 6" wide, was found. It was full of sand and there was no burial or grave goods. The stone alignment consists of six conglomerate boulders, 7ft high and 27ft apart, except where one is missing, which Young speculates may have been double. No description is given of the 'ditch and vallum' but the plan suggests that the 'vallum' may have been secondary.
H W Young 1904; Scot Antiq 1902
A mutilated and overgrown cairn, c13m diameter and c 2m high, with three kerb stones on the SE side. It stands eccentrically on a sub-circular platform measuring c 21m NNW to SSE, by c 18m tranversely and c 0.3m in height but is destroyed in the E by quarrying. At only one point is there any suggestion of the 'vallum' noted by Young, where there are traces of a bank for about 3m on the rim of the platform, but there is no trace of a ditch. This is almost certainly a Wessex-type bell-cairn.
Of the six stones (A-F) of the stone row only 'B' and 'C' remains upright, measuring respectively 1.3m and 1m in height. There is no evidence to support Young's theory of a double row.
Resurveyed at 1/2500 (by OS (RD) 26 November 1965)
Visited by OS (RL) 7 January 1971.
NB stone row now recorded separately - HAW 5/2003
Area around the cairn mound being cleared of trees following house build in field to S. Cairn distinct mound on natural hillock with panoramic views to N. Large free standing stones at the E end and then "stone row" to E of this. But further large stones in field boundary to SW of cairn. Remains of possibly trial trenching visible. Area to E of the cairn mound although badly disturbed by plasnt machinery seems to have suspiciously large areas of stone in places, possibly indicating further structures in this area. Photos - HAW 3/2004
Sources/Archives (17)
- --- SHG1160 Text/Publication/Article: Scottish Antiquary, The. 1902. 'News notes', The Scottish Antiquary or Northern Notes and Queries Vol. 16 April 1902, p.200-20. The Scottish Antiquary or Northern Notes and Queri. 200-20. 211-12.
- --- SHG1170 Text/Publication/Article: Young, H W. 1904. 'Note on a cairn at Kinsteary, Nairn', Reliquary Illust Archaeol Vol. 10 1904, p.130-2. Reliquary Illust Archaeol. 130-2. 130-2; 131, 130, 132.
- --- SHG12474 Image/Photograph(s): General view of trenches from S.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12475 Image/Photograph(s): Trench 2.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12476 Image/Photograph(s): Trench 3.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12477 Image/Photograph(s): Trench 4.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12478 Image/Photograph(s): Trench 5 from S.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12479 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 1 from E. (P.Hole). Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12480 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 2 : Post-Hole from W.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12481 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 3 : Hearth from W.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12482 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 3 : Hearth from W.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12483 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 3 from W, with scale.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12484 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 3 : Hearth from W.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12485 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 3 : Possible hearth from W.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12486 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 4 : Pit from W.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG12487 Image/Photograph(s): Feature 5 : Post-hole from E.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
- --- SHG2672 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1978. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Nairn District, Highland Region. . 8, No. 10.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 9311 5485 (14m by 14m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH95SW |
| Civil Parish | AULDEARN |
| Geographical Area | NAIRN |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/15597 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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