Corrimony chambered cairn, located near the village of Glen Urquhart in the Highlands of Scotland, is a well-preserved Bronze Age burial monument belonging to the group of circular chambered cairns, known as Clava cairns. The site was excavated by archaeologist Professor Stuart Piggott, in 1952. One skeleton and one artefact were uncovered during the investigation. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
The historic site consists of a burial mound, edged by a stone kerb, and surrounded by a circle of 11 large stones. A narrow entrance passage, 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in height, leads to the central chamber of the tomb. The chamber was constructed from large vertical boulders and drystone walls. It measures 18 m (59 ft) in diameter, is 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in height, and is made up of waterworn stones. [1] The monument is covered by a cup-marked, single slab and piled with small stones. It is thought that the large, flat stone was the original capstone. [2] West of the passage entrance, two newer stones from lintels in the roof were added after construction. Of the 11 stones forming the outer ring round the cairn, four are modern additions. They range in height from 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) to 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in). [1] [3]
The Corrimony chambered cairn belongs to the type of Bronze Age burial monuments known as Clava cairns. They are characterized as having a burial tomb enclosed by a large mound of small stones and encircled by larger stones. [2] To date, these monuments have only been found in the Highlands of Scotland. Clava cairns can be divided into two types: a central burial chamber entered by a passage and a closed cairn without a passage to the central chamber. [4]
The site was excavated by archaeologist, Professor Stuart Piggott, in 1952. During excavation, a crouched inhumation burial was found in the central chamber under a floor of flagstones. The only artefact uncovered during the excavation was a bone pin, which now is in the National Museum of Scotland. [3] [5] Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994. [1]
A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a sizeable chamber around and over which a cairn of stones was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves. They are found throughout Britain and Ireland, with the largest number in Scotland.
Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built around 2800 BC. In the archaeology of Scotland, it gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney.
The court cairn or court tomb is a megalithic type of chambered cairn or gallery grave. During the period, 3900–3500 BC, more than 390 court cairns were built in Ireland and over 100 in southwest Scotland. The Neolithic monuments are identified by an uncovered courtyard connected to one or more roofed and partitioned burial chambers. Many monuments were built in multiple phases in both Ireland and Scotland and later re-used in the Early Bronze Age.
The Clava cairn is a type of Bronze Age circular chamber tomb cairn, named after the group of three cairns at Balnuaran of Clava, to the east of Inverness in Scotland. There are about 50 cairns of this type in an area round about Inverness. They fall into two sub-types, one typically consisting of a corbelled passage grave with a single burial chamber linked to the entrance by a short passage and covered with a cairn of stones, with the entrances oriented south west towards midwinter sunset. In the other sub-type an annular ring cairn encloses an apparently unroofed area with no formal means of access from the outside. In both sub-types a stone circle surrounds the whole tomb and a kerb often runs around the cairn. The heights of the standing stones vary in height so that the tallest fringe the entrance and the shortest are directly opposite it.
Bryn Celli Ddu is a prehistoric site on the Welsh island of Anglesey located near Llanddaniel Fab. Its name means 'the mound in the dark grove'. It was archaeologically excavated between 1928 and 1929. Visitors can get inside the mound through a stone passage to the burial chamber, and it is the centrepiece of a major Neolithic Scheduled Monument in the care of Cadw. The presence of a mysterious pillar within the burial chamber, the reproduction of the 'Pattern Stone', carved with sinuous serpentine designs, and the fact that the site was once a henge with a stone circle, and may have been used to plot the date of the summer solstice have all attracted much interest.
Porth Hellick Down is a Neolithic and Bronze Age archeological site located on the island of St Mary's, in the Isles of Scilly in Great Britain. The ancient burial monument encompasses a large cairn cemetery that includes at least six entrance graves, other unchambered cairns, and a prehistoric field system. The site is notable for having the largest assembly of surviving entrance graves.
Listoghil is the large central monument in the Carrowmore group of prehistoric tombs in County Sligo in Ireland. It was numbered as Carrowmore 51 by George Petrie in 1837 and this designation is still used. Although the district of Cuil Irra is steeped in legend, Listoghil has never been satisfactorily connected with the ancient legends in the way that say Newgrange has. It is the only cairn in Carrowmore. Antiquarians in the 19th century made references to another cairn nearby at Leacharail, but the site of this has never been located.
A recumbent stone circle is a type of stone circle that incorporates a large monolith, known as a recumbent, lying on its side. They are found in only two regions: in Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland and in the far south-west of Ireland in the counties of Cork and Kerry. In Ireland, the circles are now more commonly called Cork–Kerry or axial stone circles. They are believed by some archaeologists such as Aubrey Burl to be associated with rituals in which moonlight played a central role, as they are aligned with the arc of the southern moon. Recent excavations at Tomnaverie stone circle have suggested that no alignment of the circle was intended.
Corrimony is a small village at the western end of Glenurquhart, in Inverness-shire, in the Highlands of Scotland, now within Highland council area. It is 13 km west of Drumnadrochit, and 32 km south-west of Inverness.
Blackhammer Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland. The tomb, constructed around 3000 BC, is a Orkney–Cromarty chambered cairn, characterized by stalled burial compartments. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
Quoyness chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Sanday in Orkney, Scotland. Similar to Maeshowe in design, the tomb was probably built around 3000 BC. The skeletal remains of several people were uncovered in the tomb during excavation in 1867. The monument was partially restored and reconstructed after a second excavation during the early 1950s, to display the different original stages of construction of the tomb. The property is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
The Pettigarths Field Cairns is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting, northeastern Whalsay, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It is located approximately 140 metres (460 ft) to the northwest of Benie Hoose. The site contains upright stones as well as masonry. The south cairn is roughly 6 metres (20 ft) square, with an eastern entrance passage and circular chamber about 2 metres across. 4 metres (13 ft) to the north is a round cairn, 4.5 metres (15 ft) in diameter, with a rectangular cist. The two cairns are located on a rise, about 140 metres (460 ft) northwest of Benie Hoose.
The Grey Cairns of Camster are two large Neolithic chambered cairns located about 8+1⁄2 miles south of Watten and 5 miles (8 km) north of Lybster in Caithness, in the Highland region of Scotland. They are among the oldest structures in Scotland, dating to about 5,000 years ago. The cairns demonstrate the complexity of Neolithic architecture, with central burial chambers accessed through narrow passages from the outside. They were excavated and restored by Historic Environment Scotland in the late 20th century and are open to the public.
The Knowes of Trotty is a Bronze Age cemetery located in Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. The ancient site consists of a group of twelve surviving burial mounds, dating to 2030–1770 BC. Along with cremated human remains, four gold discs and a number of amber beads and pendants were discovered in the largest mound in 1858. Knowes of Trotty is one of the earliest group of burial mounds in Orkney and one of the largest Bronze Age cemeteries in the United Kingdom.
Vinquoy chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Eday, in Orkney, Scotland. The tomb probably dates to the early third millennium BC, and is similar in design to Maeshowe Neolithic tomb found on Mainland Orkney. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1936.
Huntersquoy chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Eday, in Orkney, Scotland. The monument dates from the 3rd millennium BC and is an Orkney–Cromarty type chambered cairn. Huntersquoy is a distinctive two-story burial monument with overlapping chambers. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1936.
Quanterness chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. An Iron Age roundhouse built into the cairn was discovered during excavation in the early 1970s. The dwelling was constructed around 700 BC. Also found during excavation, were the remains of 157 people, pottery remnants and other artefacts. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1929.
Knowe of Yarso chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Rousay in Orkney, Scotland. The site was excavated in the 1930s, and uncovered human and animal bones as well as pottery sherds, flint and bone tools, and arrowheads. The tomb, dating to the period between 3500 and 2500 BC, is a stalled chambered cairn, similar to Midhowe and Blackhammer. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
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