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Clova, Kildrummy

Cup And Ring Marked Stone(S) (Prehistoric), Cup Marked Stone(S) (Prehistoric), Souterrain (Prehistoric)

Site Name Clova, Kildrummy

Classification Cup And Ring Marked Stone(S) (Prehistoric), Cup Marked Stone(S) (Prehistoric), Souterrain (Prehistoric)

Alternative Name(s) Muirs Of Kildrummy

Canmore ID 160271

Site Number NJ41NE 1.01

NGR NJ 4609 1960

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/160271

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Aberdeenshire
  • Parish Kildrummy
  • Former Region Grampian
  • Former District Gordon
  • Former County Aberdeenshire

Archaeology Notes

NJ41NE 1.01 4609 1960

This souterrain is situated under a small stand of trees 240m W of Muirs of Kildrummy steading (NJ41NE 74). The main part of the passage is orientated E and W, but at the W end it turns at right-angles onto the narrow entrance. The passage measures about 16m in length and ranges in width from 1.3m at the W end to 1.9m at the E end. Most of the passage retains its original roofing of large slabs, but this has been removed over a distance of 2.4m from the E end and 1.5m at the W end. The walls of the souterrain are up to 1.7m high and have been constructed primarily of angular random masonry on a basal course of large irregular boulders. The upper courses of the masonry are corbelled and the narrowing in the breadth towards the roof is most obvious at the E end, where it reduces from 1.9m to 1.5m.

At the entrance a set of five steps, which may be a comparatively modern insertion, descends through a narrow passage, which measures between 0.5m and 0.7m in breadth and is no more than 0.9m in height where it joins the end of the main chamber. At least two further steps are probably buried beneath soil that has washed or fallen into the end of the passage.

At the opposite end of the main passage, in the S wall 1m from the E end, and 0.7m from the floor, there is an entrance to a secondary chamber, which is similar in terms of its location and construction to that recorded at Glenkindie (NJ41SW 2). The entrance measures 0.65m in width and 0.6m in height. The secondary chamber has largely been in-filled, but at least three roofing slabs can be seen over a distance of 1m.

The roof of the souterrain incorporates at least two cupmarked slabs. One is situated on the S side 4.6m from the E end, above and between the fourth and fifth surviving roofing-slabs. Very little of the stone is visible, but the underside is decorated with cupmarks measuring up to 75mm in diameter; two of the cups are linked by a short length of channel and there are other lengths of channel present. On the N side, in a similar location, the second stone bears cup-and-ringmarkings, but the stone is too inaccessible for any details of the decoration to be noted.

Visited by RCAHMS (JRS), 15 October 1997.

Scheduled [with NJ41NE 1.02] as Muirs of Kildrummy, souterrains 230m W of and 350m SSW of...

Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 2 December 2003.

Activities

Field Visit (26 July 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) 4 December 2014.

Note

Date fieldwork started: 11/05/2019

Compiled by: ScRAP

Location notes: The panel is located as described in the roof of the souterrain, in a recessed area between two large granite roofing slabs. It is difficult to see, partly obscured by the surrounding stones, and is best accessed by touch. A second cup and ring marked stone with grooves (ScRAP 771) is in a similarly recessed area between roofing slabs on the immediately opposite side of the passage. A second souterrain (Canmore 160272, ScRAP 989) with cupmarked rocks is situated about 400m due S. Both souterrains and their cupmarked rocks are mentioned in the Canmore record 17079 (ScRAP 2284).

Panel notes: The panel is partially hidden by surrounding roofing slabs, and only an area of 0.5x0.4m is exposed, although the stone is larger. Its flat, downwards facing surface is partly exfoliated, and has what appear to be 7 shallow and un-eroded circular depressions, some of which may be natural features caused by surface flaking, as well as 1 possible cupmark with a pecked arc. It is unclear whether the marks were made before the the construction of the souterrain, or added at a later date.

Note

Date fieldwork started: 11/05/2019

Compiled by: ScRAP

Location notes: The panel is located as described in the roof of the souterrain, in a recessed area between two large granite roofing slabs. It is difficult to see, partly obscured by the surrounding stones, and is best accessed by touch. A second cup and ring marked stone is in a similarly recessed area between roofing slabs on the immediately opposite side of the passage. A second souterrain (Canmore 160272, ScRAP 989) with cupmarked rocks is situated about 400m due S. Both souterrains and their cupmarked rocks are mentioned in the Canmore record 17079 (ScRAP 2284).

Panel notes: The panel is partially hidden by roofing slabs, with an area of about 0.4x0.4m exposed, although the stone is larger this. The carved surface faces inwards towards the souterrain passage. It comprises 4 wide, linear parallel grooves with tapered ends (not dissimilar to the marks left by the prongs of a JCB), and part of a possible fifth groove at the wall edge . Further S, very close to the surrounding roofing slabs, are two wide shallow cups connected by a groove. One of the 4 linear grooves described above comes from each cup, and the remaining 2 linear grooves extend from the groove connecting the 2 cups.

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