Monument record MHG1214 - Burnt Mound, Torran Dubh

Torran Dubh (Brough) (NR) OS 6"map, Caithness, 2nd ed. (1907)

Torran Dubh is a probable cairn, 93ft by 47ft, aligned NW-SE and about 5ft high.
RCAHMS 1911, visited 1910. <1>

It is unlikely that this mound, now irregularly shaped and measuring 32m by 17m and 2m max height, is a cairn. Recent ploughing has revealed large quantities of black earth and a few small burnt stones similar to the material found in the burnt mounds of Orkney. There is a stream close by which is again significant. There is no local knowledge of any finds having been made here.
Resurveyed at 1:2500. Visited by OS (N K B) 22 October 1964.

Torran Dubh (NAT) Burnt Mound (NR) OS 6"map, (1969)

Torran Dubh is a burnt mound of unusually large proportions as described by previous OS field investigator. It is now under pasture, but soil erosion has revealed a content of burnt stone and black earth. Visited by OS (N K B) 24 August 1981.

A pear-shaped, grass-covered mound, 15m NW-SE by 13m by 2m high, composed mainly of earth. It is being eroded by cattle and there is evidence of burning.
R J Mercer 1981. <2>

Excavations associated with a power line re-routing, in close proximity to this burnt mound, were subject to a watching brief. No archaeological features were noted. The morphology of the burnt mound suggests that the location of cooking tank / area and hence the focus activity lay on the NE flank of the mound and that the original spring would have been similarly located. <3>