Monument record MHG29176 - Earth bank, Balblair Wood

No: 16
NGR: NH 5000 4417 - 5009 4443
Source: Fieldwalking
Class: Turf-covered bank and ditch

Description - This monument is a turf-covered bank with a ditch on its northern side which runs NE to SW along the bottom edge of the plateau. The bank is c.1m wide and generally over 0.5m tall. The ditch is of a similar width to the bank and survives as a hollow 0.2m deep, although excavation would undoubtedly confirm that it is much deeper. The bank and ditch continue to the north and south of the project area and are probably related to the post-medieval farming landscape to the north of the project area, which comprises a number of similar banks and ditches and long houses. Cairns both within the project area (no.’s 3, 4 and 6-15) and to the immediate north are probably clearance heaps: certainly they seem to be confined to the improved land north of this bank and ditch. However, the presence of probable chambered tombs (no.’s 1 and 2) and a circular enclosure (no. 5) suggests that any clearance may have been placed on and masked monuments of a prehistoric date, such as burial cairns and hut circles. <1>