Balnalick
Cist (Prehistoric), Kerb Cairn (Prehistoric)
Site Name Balnalick
Classification Cist (Prehistoric), Kerb Cairn (Prehistoric)
Alternative Name(s) Glen Urquhart
Canmore ID 12348
Site Number NH43SW 2
NGR NH 43795 31204
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/12348
- Council Highland
- Parish Urquhart And Glenmoriston
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Inverness
- Former County Inverness-shire
NH43SW 2 43795 31204.
(NH 4379 3120) Cairn (NR)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)
This circular cairn 53' - 54' in diameter and 4' high at centre, is composed of small stones, with a retaining kerb of large irregular blocks 3' - 4' in length. No sign of any outer circle of standing stones was found.
Excavations in July and August 1887, revealed a cist containing a collared cinerary urn, about 13" high. In the urn, which was broken on removal, was a MBA razor (now in Inverness Museum) and bones, some of which were recognisable as parts of a skull.
The cist, 2' long, had been built on layers composed of ashes, charcoal and earthy matter and fragments of bone and quartz.
A Grant 1888; J M Coles 1966
This cairn is generally as described by Grant, but no trace of the cist remains. It is now grass-covered and surmounted by small trees and the centre of the cairn used as a depository for stone clearance.
Resurveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (N K B) 14 December 1964.
Field Visit (18 September 1943)
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.
Field Visit (9 October 1997)
NH43SW 2 43795 31204.
This cairn stands in birch woodland at the SW end of a ridge, in a position which affords a wide outlook to W, S and E. It measures 16m in diameter and 1m in height, and a few kerbstones are visible on its SW edge.
(URQ97 105)
Visited by RCAHMS (SDB) 9 October 1997
