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| Canmore ID |
12447 |
SCRAP ID |
403 |
| Location OS Grid Ref: |
NH 46094 55825
|
Team |
Not in team
|
|
Existing Classifications
|
| Classification |
Period |
| Chambered Cairn |
|
|
| Date Fieldwork Started |
11/11/2019 |
Date Fieldwork Completed |
|
| New Panel? |
No |
|
A1. Identifiers
| Panel Name |
Preas Mairi, Contin |
Number |
|
| Other names |
|
| HER/SMR |
MHG6308
|
SM Number |
|
Other |
|
Classifications And Periods
| Classification 1 |
Cup Marked Stone |
Period 1 |
Neol/bronze Age |
| Classification 2 |
Chambered Cairn |
Period 2 |
Neolithic |
County
ROSS AND CROMARTY
A2. Grid Reference(original find site)
| OS NGR |
NH |
46090 |
55840 |
| New OS NGR |
NH |
46094 |
55825 |
| Lat/Long |
57.5662 |
-4.57466 |
| Obtained By: |
GPS
|
A3. Current Location & Provenance
| Located |
- Moved from original location
- Re-used in structure
|
| Accession no. |
Not given |
B1. Landscape Context
| Weather |
Rain
|
| Position in landscape |
Bottom of hill |
| Topography(terrain within about 500m of panel.) |
Flat |
| Aspect of slope (if on sloping terrain e.g. S, SE etc.) |
|
B2. Current land use & vegetation
Other:Burial ground
B3. Forestry
B4. Archaeological Features within 200m / or visible from the panel
B5. Location Notes
The panel is situated within the small family burial ground of the Mackenzies of Coul. The burial ground is enclosed by a stone wall and is accessed by gates on the W side. The burial ground also contains the remains of a chambered cairn (SM 2397) in the SE part of the enclosed area. The panel is one of the seven remaining stone slabs of the cairn chamber. It is part of the bipartite chamber, located is on the NE side slab of the cairn, just to the W of the 2 portal stones and to the E of the inner portal stones. The vegetation in the burial ground is not being controlled in any way and ivy covers the ground and many of the memorials and the cairn stones. There are some very large trees and ornamental shrubs which make access limited. Prior to the building of the wall around the burial ground there would have been views over the confluence of the Black Water and the River Conon to the S. There is at least one other cup marked stone in the nearby area, Coul Woods. There are other chambered cairns in the area and a henge and crannog.
Previous Notes
Stone Circle (NR) (Remains of) Stone Cist (NR)
OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1907)
Contin Mains (Pris Maree): This Orkney-Cromarty, rectangular, chambered cairn has been almost entirely removed, only some stones of chamber remaining. The entrance has been from E and two portal stones survive, 3' and 3.5' high and 2' 4" apart, with a low sill between them. Only N slab of the outer compartment remains; on its upper edge are three cup marks from 9" - 10" in diameter and 1.5" - 5" deep. Two transverse slabs sub divide chamber whose inner compartment is formed of two slabs; the northern is 2'3" high and southern 3'4". N of entrance is a prostrate slab over 7' long; 30' W of chamber two small parallel slabs 1' apart are exposed - possibly these are slightly displaced and belong to a cist. A S Henshall 1963
The remains of this chambered cairn are as described above.
Resurveyed at 1/2500. Visited by OS (R D) 20 January 1965
There is no trace of the alleged cist. Otherwise as described.
Visited by OS (A A) 23 April 1975
No change. Visited by RCAMS (JRS) March 1989.
Henshall, A S, 1963, The chambered tombs of Scotland, Volume 1, Vol. 1, 346, (ROS 19); plan 347 (Text/Publication/Monograph). SHG357.
C1. Panel Type
| In a structure |
Burial monument |
|
C2. Panel Dimensions, Slope & Orientation
Dimensions of panel (m to one decimal place)
| Length (longer axis) |
1.8 |
Width |
0.4 |
| Height (max) |
0.8 |
Height (min) |
0.6 |
Approximate slope of carved surface
Orientation (Aspect e.g. NW)
| Rock Surface |
|
Carved Surface |
|
Carved Surface |
|
C3. Rock Surface
| Surface Compactness |
Hard
|
Grain Size |
Medium
|
Visible Anomalies |
Not Visible
|
Rock Type |
Schist
|
C4. Surface Features
C5. Panel Notes
This is a large schist slab measuring 1.8 x 0.4m wide and 0.8m high on the S side and 0.6m on the N side. The 3 large cups are on the top of the slab, they are all about 25cm across. The western-most cup is about 15cm deep, the central cup is 11cms deep and the E cup is very shallow in comparison only 5cm deep with no clear edge. The central cup has an upper overflowing lip on the N side. On the day of the visit the two deep cups were full of water and locally the water from the cups is still thought to be able to cure warts. Whether this belief, which may have considerable antiquity, has encouraged the deepening of the original cups is not clear, but there is no suggestion that there have been any modern changes in the shape of the cups.
C6. Probability
The probability that there is any rock art on the panel is
Definite
Comments
No comments added
C7. MOTIFS
Cupmark
|
|
3
|
Visible Tool Marks? No
Visible Peck Marks? No
D1. Access
- Right to Roam access.
- Panel is on Private land.
D2. Awareness
- Panel was known before the project.
- This panel is known to others in the local community.
There are stories or folk traditions associated with this panel Yes
D3. Risk
Natural
- There are trees nearby whose roots might disturb the rock.
- Water will pool deeply on parts of the surface.
Animal
Human
Comments and other potential threats
No comments added
