a prehistoric cemetery
— Clava Cairns —
The monuments here were built between three and four thousand years ago.
The oldest are a circular walled enclosure - the central 'ring cairn' and two 'passage graves.' The latest was a ring of boulders that enclosed a grave, the 'kerb cairn.' Such Bronze Age monuments are a feature of the inner Moray Firth and as these are the best preserved examples, they are known as 'Clava cairns.'
Recent excavations and research here have revealed a startling new complexity to the construction of these cairns.
Our attention has been drawn to the characteristics of the architecture. These reflect the esteem in which the builders held the light of the sun and the colour, shape and texture of stones. It was discovered that each tomb was short lived and may have housed very few bodies - possibly only one - and that these were not accompanied by any offerings that survive today. As a tomb went out of use it was surrounded by a ring of standing stones. In around 1,000 BC the cemetery was reused and further monuments were constructed.
What you are able to see now was originally part of a much larger cemetery which extended eastwards towards the Nairn Viaduct (behind you).
In the 1870's the monuments were interpreted as druids' temples and, in keeping with Victorian romanticism, the owner planted a grove of trees enclosing the three largest monuments. In the opposite direction, are the remains of part of another cemetery which can be visited at Milton of Clava. This is shown on the map and is 10 minutes away by foot.
You can visit another 'Clava cairn' at Corrimony, to the west of Loch Ness, and the contemporary cemetery at Kilmartin in Argyll. A leaflet to accompany your visit is available from Fort George or can be downloaded from www.historic-scotland.govuk.
caption
The distribution of passage graves and ring cairns in northern Scotland.
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