Allt Nam Ban
Chambered Cairn (Neolithic)
Site Name Allt Nam Ban
Classification Chambered Cairn (Neolithic)
Canmore ID 6486
Site Number NC80NE 4
NGR NC 8566 0784
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/6486
- Council Highland
- Parish Clyne
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Sutherland
- Former County Sutherland
NC80NE 4 8566 0784.
(NC 8566 0784) Chambered Cairn (NR).
OS 6" map, (1964)
(NC 857 077) Allt nam Ban: Orkney-Cromarty with a Camster type chamber. The cairn lies in a thin birch wood gently sloping down to the E shore of Loch Brora and close to the left bank of the burn at 200ft OD. It is composed of small rounded boulders, has been greatly disturbed and a large part of it carted away for road metal but the N half of a tripartite chamber remains backed by cairn material which still reaches a height of 6ft. The cairn has been oval in plan and now appears to measure about 66ft by 47ft, but when seen in a less ruined state by RCAHMS (1911) he judged the length to be about 54ft. The chamber is orientated E - W along the main axis.
The entrance has been from the W side which faces the loch. The S wall of the passage, built of large slabs set on end, still survives, 27ft long. The entrance into the chamber is between transversely set portal stones 2ft 6ins high and 2ft apart. Two lintels remain, the inner over the portal stones but resting on an intervening stone on each side which serves to increase the height of the entrance; the outer lintel rests on the passage walls, here 2ft 7ins apart. The height of the lintel is 2 - 3ft above the present floor level.
The chamber has three compartments, with a total length of 15ft. The N wall of drystone, attains a maximum height of 4ft but the S wall is virtually destroyed.
RCAHMS 1911, visited 1909; Antiq J 1928; W D Simpson 1936; A S Henshall 1963, visited 1957.
The cairn is generally as described above. Due to the birch and dense bracken it is not possible to determine the exact dimensions of the cairn but it appears to have measured 24.0m E to W by 20.0m N to S.
Only parts of the N and W sides remain, together with the tripartite chambers. The S wall of the entrance passage is not now apparent.
The maximum height of the cairn is 1.7m, measured on the N side,this side being a mass of rubble.
There are several field clearance mounds in the vicinity.
Visited by OS (E G C) 16 July 1961
No change since report of 16 July 1961.
Revised at 1/10,000.
Visited by OS (J B) 10 November 1975.
Field Visit (25 August 1909)
44. Chambered Cairn, Allt nam Ban. On the left bank of the Allt nam Ban, which flows into the middle one of the three divisions of Loch Brora, near the centre of the E. bank and about 30 yards back from the road, in a birch wood, are the remains of an excavated chambered cairn. The passage which approaches the chamber from the W. has been removed almost up to the lintel covering the entrance, which is at 20' from what appears to have been the outside. The passage exists for the last 3' 8", including the part covered by the lintel, and is 3' wide. The portals which support the lintel are 2' high and have on the top of each an additional stone, raising them to 2' 9". The lintel is 5' long, 1' 8” deep, and 1' 4" across. The chamber appears to have been tripartite. The first compartment is 5' long: the S. side has fallen, but the width has been about 7'. The sides have been curved, and are entirely built instead of having large upright slabs forming a portion of the walls. Two partition stones 3' long by 1' thick and 3' in height, as far as exposed, and about 2' apart, separate the first and second compartments. The second compartment, which is also built, is 4' 9" in length by 8' 3' in breadth. At the back are two other division stones 1' 9" apart: that on the N. 3' 6" long, that on the S. 3'. They are in great measure covered with debris, and no part of the chamber beyond is visible. The diameter of the cairn along the line of the direction of the chamber from E. to W. has been about 54' and across the chamber about 46'. The remains of the cairn are covered with moss and fern.
OS 6-inch map, Sutherland, Sheet xcvii. (unnoted).
RCAHMS 1911, visited (AOC) 25th August 1909.
