Monument record MHG3011 - South ring cairn, Balnuaran of Clava

NH74SE 11 7585 4441.

(NH 7585 4441) Hut Circle (NR)
OS 25"map, (1965)

This oval stone-walled hut, on the edge of a modern field, measures c. 13.0m ESE-WNW by c. 11.5m between the centres of a wall spread to c. 3.0m all round. Details of the hut are obscured by later stone clearance and no entrance can be seen, although Jolly noted "the usual opening to the SSE".
Surveyed at 1:2500.
W Jolly 1882; Visited by OS (W D J) 25 April 1962 and (N K B) 15 April 1970.

A circular earthwork SE of the guardianship enclosure, which is currently recorded as a 'hut circle', was examined by small- scale excavation and proved to be the remains of a ring-cairn. Four of the outer kerb stones still survived, together with a broad bank of rubble. It seems likely that the monument was constructed in two phases. The first involved the construction of the cairn from surface boulders. In a later phase the interior was excavated and soil was piled against the outer kerb of the monument. This material included a small amount of cremated bone and contained a number of sandstone slabs - a feature which was also recognised in the ring-cairn within the guardianship enclosure.
Sponsors: Historic Scotland and Reading University with assistance from Highland Archaeology Service.
R Bradley 1996