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Newton Of Petty

Chambered Cairn (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age), Stone Circle (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)

Site Name Newton Of Petty

Classification Chambered Cairn (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age), Stone Circle (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)

Canmore ID 14198

Site Number NH74NW 14

NGR NH 73477 48584

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

C14 Radiocarbon Dating

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/14198

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Highland
  • Parish Petty
  • Former Region Highland
  • Former District Inverness
  • Former County Inverness-shire

Archaeology Notes

NH74NW 14 7348 4858.

(NH 7348 4858) Chambered Cairn (NR) (remains of) The site of this Clava-type cairn is in the corner of a flat field, just over 50ft OD, about 1/2 mile inland from the S shore of the Moray Firth. A railway cutting skirts the monument on the N and may account for the loss of the monoliths on this side. Most of the kerb of the cairn survives and has a diameter of 50 - 52ft. It is constructed of rough, rounded boulders with no regular graduation in size though they tend to be rather slighter to the N. The stones vary from 3ft to 1ft in height. The cairn material and centre structure have been removed though some stones of the innermost setting survived to 1824 (Anderson 1831). Four monoliths of the surrounding circle remain standing, evenly spaced on the SW arc, 14 to 16ft from the kerb. From S to N they are 4ft, 5ft, 4 1/2ft, and 3 3/4ft high, the tallest stone being directly to the SW. Two prostrate stones on the SE are probably fallen monoliths. There are said to have been formerly thirteen free-standing stones round the cairn (Anderson 1831).

G Anderson 1831; J Fraser 1884; A S Henshall 1963.

The remains of the cairn are as described by Miss Henshall - one of the kerb stones on the SW side has since been removed.

Visited by OS (E G C) 25 April 1962.

Two seasons of excavation have confirmed that this site was of "ring-cairn" type. The inner kerb consisted of a small ditch dug into the old land surface which was filled mainly with water-worn boulders and some flat slabs. This infill protruded above the old land surface in some places. The larger sizes of both the ditch and the stones of its infill on the SW side of the inner kerb reflected the usual Clava orientation. Large quantities of crushed cremated bone were found in a matrix of sooty soil in the central area of the cairn. There was little sign of disturbance in the thin layer of cairn material, and in view of the very insubstantial nature of the inner kerb, it is doubtful if the cairn ever had more than a flat platform of cobbling. No diagnostic cultural material was recovered.

J E Thawley 1976.

This Clava-type cairn, which has been photographed by the RCAHMS, was in a similar condition to that described in the previous reports when seen in 1978.

RCAHMS 1979; Visible on RCAHMS air photographs IN 3093-4: flown 1977.

Activities

Field Visit (February 1978)

Newton of Petty (INV 45) NH 734 485 NH74NW 14

Four standing stones survive to the SW of this Clava ring-cairn, which measures 15.8m in diameter over a kerb of boulders. Excavations in 1976-7 revealed large quantities of cremated bone in the central area.

RCAHMS 1979, visited February 1978

(Henshall 1963-72, i, 383; DES 1976, 36)

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