Publication Account
Date 1987
Event ID 1016988
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016988
Situated on the Moor of Ardoch above Fowlis Wester, a position that offers commanding views over Strathearn towards the Ochil Hills, there is an interesting group of monuments that was excavated in 1939; it comprises two standing stones (although one is now fallen), a cairn with a circle of boulders around it, and a ruined circle of standing stones. The upright stone is some 2m high and bears a single cup-mark; excavation revealed a deposit of cremated bone, charcoal and quartz chippings on its east side; on the same side there was a pit carefully packed with white water-rolled stones. The cairn to the south-west belongs to a distinct group of sites known as kerb cairns, for the perimeter boulders, or kerb, form the most remarkable element; the cairn is some 4.8m in diameter and is best preserved on its southern half. At its centre excavation revealed traces of burning and patches of cremated bone as well as deliberately positioned quantities of white quartz. The inner face of one of the south-western kerb stones was decorated with three cup-marks. Four stones of the surrounding circle survive, but the stone-holes of the other seven could be clearly traced. The second circle and a fallen standing stone may be seen a little to the west, but the circle has been more severely damaged and none of its stones now remains upright.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Fife and Tayside’, (1987).
