Alva
Inhumation (Prehistoric)
Site Name Alva
Classification Inhumation (Prehistoric)
Canmore ID 47076
Site Number NS89NE 3
NGR NS 8848 9754
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/47076
- Council Clackmannan
- Parish Alva
- Former Region Central
- Former District Clackmannan
- Former County Clackmannanshire
NS89NE 3 8848 9754.
The flexed skeleton of a dwarf which had been buried in a natural cavity in the rock was uncovered on 24 December 1913 by James Murdoch while quarrying at the mouth of Alva Glen, a few yards from the right bank of the burn. The body had been placed in a cavity or rock shelter in the face of the cliff, about 40ft from the base and about 200ft above sea-level, and a rough, curved wall of dry-stone building, about 1ft thick, had been built across the opening, which faced east. Unlike many prehistoric graves, no charcoal or charred wood was found and the only other finds were twenty or thirty snail shells showing no signs of artificial perforation.
Source: J G Callander 1914
(NS 8848 9754) Quarry located and sited from information above. No further information was encountered during investigation.
Visited by OS (MH) 4 August 1953
Publication Account (1933)
Prehistoric Burial, Alva Glen.
On the 24th December 1914 [sic] the remains of a human skeleton, which had been buried in a natural cavity in the rock, were uncovered in a quarry at the mouth of Alva Glen. A detailed report is given in Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot., xlviii (1913-14), pp. 196-200.
RCAHMS 1933.
Field Visit (August 1978)
Alva Glen NS 884975 NS89NE 3
A Flexed skeleton of a ‘dwarf' found during quarrying in 1913; deposited in a cavity or rock shelter with a dry-stone wall around the opening; date unknown.
RCAHMS 1978, visited August 1977.
(Callander, 1914, 196-200)