Burial Cairns, Stone Circles and Standing Stones

Although it is believed that this area was inhabited by hunter-gatherers as long as 8,000 years ago, the earliest remaining physical evidence of prehistoric peoples in the area dates to approximately 3,500B.C. There are many cairns, probably used for burial, in the Inverness district dating back to this period, of which the most interesting to visit are named Clava type Cairns after the particularly good example at Balnuaran of Clava near Culloden Battlefield just 10 minutes drive from Clach Mhuilinn. This particular type of Cairn features a chamber reached by a low passage from the outside. The whole was roofed over and built up into a large mound of stones.

Outside this mound is a surrounding stone circle of standing stones, graded in size with the tallest at the south-south-western point. This orientation is common to these cairns and circles and is thought to be important as the point at which the winter sun sets and therefore a date marker. Around the cairns, particularly at the entrance may be seen “cup-marked” stones. These are stones which are marked with shallow depressions made by working a small stone round and round. At Clava there are two passage graves each with a circle of standing stones around it and a ring cairn with a standing stone circle. Clava has quite an eerie atmosphere about it.

Another good example of the Clava type cairns is situated at Corriemony in Glen Urquhart which is between Loch Ness and Glen Affric. The cairn is approximately 50 feet (44 m.) across and its surrounding stone circle is 77 feet (68 m.) across. The passage points to the south-west.

Although Aberdeenshire is rich in stone circles, there is only one near Inverness which is well hidden in the woods at Torbreck on the eastern side of Loch Ness. It is small, only 17 feet (15 m.) in diameter, with stones graded in height to the tallest at 7 feet (2 m.) at the south-western point. There are also a number of similar looking ring cairns in various sites.

The other most notable evidence of prehistoric people in this area is in several vitrified forts dating back to the Iron Age between about 650 BC and 350 AD. In these defensive structures the massive stone walls have been in parts vitrified which requires temperatures of about 1200°C. Whether this was achieved on purpose or accidentally is not known but was possible done by burning of the timbers which interlaced the walls for structural purposes. The best example is at Craig Phadraig, three miles to the west of the town centre and reached from a small car park by a clearly marked, steep path. It isn’t easy to find many remains but the view is superb!

For more photos visit Andy Burnham’s site at: http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/aburnham/scot/index.htm#LochNess

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