MHG8663 - Cists w finds, Torran Dubh
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (3)
- ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- CIST (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- CREMATION (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
Torran Dubh Three Stone Cists found AD 1866, one contained an Urn, a second Gravel and Sand, Burnt Bones, Human Teeth and part of a Bronze Pin, & a third an Urn and a Cup (NAT)
OS 6" map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1906)
A grave mound about 50 feet in diameter and 6 feet high (NH 7139 8428) was levelled in December 1964. Mr Ritchie (information contained in letter and annotated 25" antiquity model, MoPBW) who saw the site shortly after, reported that a cist set just below the old land surface had been found below the centre of the mound. He believed that this mound was the Torran Dubh within which, in February 1866, three cists were found, despite the authentication of the published site by the Rev J M Joass, in 1874, in the ONB (1874).
It is clear that the three cists found in 1866 were secondary burials within the mound as they were at a depth of only three feet. Two of the cists were quite small and both contained urns, one decorated. The third cist was 4 1/2 feet long and tapered from 33 to 18 inches in width. It contained only fragments of burnt bone, charcoal and a bronze pin donated to the NMAS- - DO 18. A sandstone slab with one cup-mark lay on an adjacent knoll. Neither account mentions the 'cup' referred to in the published entry.
J M Joass 1868; Name Book 1874.
No remains of the cists are visible in this area of pasture land. A large mound 30.0m diameter to the SSW, appears to be entirely natural. Visited by OS (R D L) 20 May 1963.
"Agricultural operations removed a mound about 40-60ft in diameter and 6ft high. One short cist was found centrally just below the old land surface".
S Cruden 1965.
The pin/awl was catalogued and photographed as part of the North Kessock & District Local History Society and Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH) collaborative 'Feats of Clay' Project, which was focused on Bronze Age metalworking around the Moray Firth. It was assigned an Early Bronze Age date. <1>
Sources/Archives (7)
- --- SHG1270 Text/Publication/Article: Joass, J M. 1868. 'Notice of the discovery of cists containing urns and burned bones at Torran Dubh, near Tain', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 6 1864-6, p.418-19. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 418-19. 418-19.
- --- SHG1755 Text/Publication/Article: Cruden, S. 1965. 'Torran Dubh, Edderton, Ross and Cromarty', Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1965, p.44. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland. 44. 44.
- --- SHG2670 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty District, Highland Region. . 12, No. 65.
- --- SHG28278 Dataset/Database File: National Museums Scotland. 2019. Highland Finds from the NMS Catalogue. National Museums Scotland. Digital. DO 18.
- --- SHG3340 Text/Publication/Volume: Name Book (County). Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. Book No. 10, 39.
- --- SHG552 Text/Publication/Article: PSAS. 1868. 'Donations to and purchases for the Museum and Library plus exhibits', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 6 1864-6, p.7-14,41-8,86-91,109-14,178-83,203-10,233-39. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 7-14,41-8,86-91,109-14,17. 396.
- <1> SHG28012 Text/Publication/Monograph: Clark, G., Cowie, T. & Kruse, S. 2017. Feats of Clay. Cat. No. 56.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 7138 8431 (30m by 30m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH78SW |
| Geographical Area | ROSS AND CROMARTY |
| Civil Parish | TAIN |
Finds (6)
- URN (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- PIN (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- ANIMAL REMAINS (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- CUP (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- PLANT MACRO REMAINS (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
- ANIMAL REMAINS (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/14728 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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