Ballinluig

NH80NE 7 8638 0989.

At NH 8638 0989 is a ring-cairn on a broad shelf overlooking Loch Alvie. It measures c 12.3m in diameter overall, with a slightly eccentrically placed internal area c 6.4m in diameter. Around the N half the inner kerb of contiguous stones on edge is well preserved and the outer kerb of bigger stones is also partially intact. In the E, however, both kerbs are virtually destroyed and in the W and S most of the stones have been displaced, those of the outer kerb being shifted slightly to face a late wall which utilizes the SW arc of the cairn in its construction. Much of the cairn infill survives, but rubble in the central area appears to be mainly field clearance, probably associated with a depopulated hamlet close by to the E. There is no evidence of there ever having been an outer circle of standing stones.

About 110 metres to the N are the remains of a possible hut circle c16.0m in diameter, crossed in the E arc by a fence. It is defined by a grassed bank of rubble stones spread to 3.5m around the N arc, but the remainder of the circumference is scarcely visible. A depression in the E may indicate an entrance. Nearby to the SW are three or four stony mounds which may be contemporary stone clearance heaps and a grassy mound outside the SE arc may be another.

G Harden and D W Ross 1979.

NMRS, MS/179.

A large granite boulder, 39.5m NNE of the cairn, stands 0.9m high and may be an outlying orthostat. It will be destroyed by the construction of the new road, but the ring cairn will be preserved.

(Undated) information in NMRS.