Rock Art Database

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Section A. CORE INFORMATION

A1. Identifiers

Classifications And Periods

County

INVERNESS-SHIRE

A2. Grid Reference(original find site)

A3. Current Location & Provenance

Section B. CONTEXT

B1. Landscape Context

B2. Current land use & vegetation

• Improved Pasture
• Route way

B3. Forestry

• No selection

B4. Archaeological Features within 200m / or visible from the panel

• Other rock art
• Burial Mound/Cairn
• Stone Circle

B5. Location Notes

The panel lies on top of the Corrimony, a Clava type cairn. The cairn is a 'Property in Care' and monitored by Historic Environment Scotland and regularly visited by the public. The cairn is situated immediately to the NNW of the minor road to Corrimony, on the flat ground about 220m S of the River Enrick. The cairn and associated standing stones are enclosed by a metal fence and approached across a footbridge over the ditch between the road and cairn. Another cupmarked stone, Corrimony 2, is on one of the standing stones to the N of the cairn.

Previous Notes

This cairn is a well-preserved passage grave of Clava type. As usual, the cairn is retained by a ring of large boulders. A long passage leads through the cairn material into the small central chamber, and part of this passage is still roofed with the original stone slabs, whereas at Clava these are missing. The passage is only about one metre hi gh, and so can only be entered crouched or crawling. The walls of the chamber have a basal ring of boulders, above which is drystone walling that oversails in its higher courses but is now open in the centre. The roof was originally corbelled inwards until the rop could be closed with one large slab, and then covered with the stones of the cairn. The massive cup-marked slab now lying on top of the cairn was probably the capstone. The passage and chamber had a cobbled floor. In the 19th century the chamber had been dug out down to this floor and refilled. New excavations in 1953 discovered the stain of a single crouched body buried below the cobbled floor. A ring of eleven standing stones surrounds the cairn, and though there seems to be space for a twelfth it may never have been erected. The four circle stones closest to the passage entrance have been re-erected at some time, and the two west of the entrance are not original, but made out of two lintels from the passage roof. Information from `Exploring Scotland?s Heritage: The Highlands?, (1995). NH33SE 6 3830 3030. (NH 3830 3030) Stone Circle {NR} OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904) This Clava-type passage grave was excavated by Professor Piggot, during the summer of 1952. His excavation has now been filled in. Before excavation the cairn measured about 60' in diameter, and 8' in height, and was composed, for the most part, of water-worn stones. A large, flat, cup-marked stone, now thought to have been the cap-stone of the chamber lay on top. Excavation revealed traces of a crouched inhumation burial beneath the flagged floor of the chamber. There were no grave-goods. Of the 11 stones forming the outer ring round the cairn 4 are modern additions and 2 have been reset in recent times. The stones range from 5' - 9' in height. An area of cobbling, apparently an original feature, was revealed between two of the stones on the NW. One of the stones on the NW is said to bear cup-marks on its outer-facing side, but these are now unconvincing. The only artifact found during excavation, was a bone pin, calcined and eroded, which is now in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS, EO 956). S Piggott 1956; A S Henshall 1963 A stone on the NW side of the outer circle has cup marks on the outer face. Another stone, which lay on the W side of the cairn until 1830, and is now on the top, also has cup marks. A Mitchell 1875 This cairn, surrounded by a fence, is maintained by the MOW. It is as described above. Resurveyed at 1/2500. Visited by OS (N K B) 4 December 1964 This site was recorded as part of the RCAHMS Emergency Survey, undertaken by Angus Graham and Vere Gordon Childe during World War 2. The project archive has been catalogued during 2013-2014 and the material, which includes notebooks, manuscripts, typescripts, plans and photographs, is now available online. Information from RCAHMS (GF Geddes) 12 November 2014. "In the Cairn's chamber beneath the mound of water-worn cobbles was a bronze-age burial. The standing stones were raised at the same time though only four are in their original positions. Two are Victorian additions made of slabs from the passageway roof. Archaeologists found hints of forgotten rituals inside the tomb- layers of stamped down sand, charcoal and traces of what could have been an offering of meat. Thousands of pieces of broken quartz had been scattered around the cairn. The cap-stone and one of the standing stones are decorated with circular pits. such prehistoric rock art had profound meanings to the people who created it. the cap-stone once covered the burial chamber but was moved in the early 1800s. in 1952, the stain of a curled-up body was discovered in the sand within the chamber. Its position suggests it belonged to a woman. According to legend, a mortally-wounded Danish prince called Many fled here after his Viking raiding party was defeated in battle near Drumnadrochit. He was supposedly buried nearby."

Section C. PANEL

C1. Panel Type

C2. Panel Dimensions, Slope & Orientation

C3. Rock Surface

C4. Surface Features

• Fissures/cracks
• Smooth Surface

C5. Panel Notes

The panel is a roughly triangular gneiss slab 2.40 x 1.30m and 0.40m thick. It now lies on top of the cairn stones on the E side of the cairn. It is thought to be the capstone of the cairn and was removed about 1830 when the cairn was first excavated. It may have been placed in its present position on the top of the cairn stones during later excavations and some rebuilding of the cairn. The slab has many cupmarks, with approximate 72 cups, 1 dumbbell and 1 set of 3 cups joined with grooves. The stone has a number of fissures across the top but generally has a smooth surface.

C6. Probability

The probability that there is any rock art on the panel is Definite

Comments

1 set of 3 cups joined with grooves

C7. MOTIFS

Visible Tool Marks? No

Visible Peck Marks? No

Section D. ACCESS, AWARENESS & RISK

D1. Access

• Right to Roam access.
• Access is managed by a national organisation.
• There is and interpretation on site.

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 No

D3. Risk

Natural

• No selection

Animal

Human

• The rock is located on/nearby a path or place where people might walk.

Comments and other potential threats

No comments added