Monument record MHG6790 - Tom nan Carragh

NJ02SW 4 0117 2468.

(NJ 0117 2468) Standing Stone (NR)
OS 6"map, Morayshire, 2nd ed., (1904)

A standing stone about 8ft high ('supposed to be the remains of a Druidical Circle' is inferred from the text).
Name Book 1871. <1>

A roughly hewn standing stone. No trace of an associated stone circle or cairn.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (N K B) 7 September 1966.

A mysterious site on the hill adjacent to the standing stones of Tom nan Carragh. It is a cross shape cut into the earth looking over the River Spey. It is not recorded on maps, and there is no oral tradition as to its purpose. Ballintomb has standing stones located on it, a Pictish Class 1 stone was found nearby and in 1836 human remains were found when a trench was cut across the hill.

Site visited and photographed by John Halliday, 30/09/03. Highland Archaeology Challenge. See assoc. docs. File. <2>

See survey by Sandra Law 2003 <3>

Oram 1996 calls the site Ballintomb, Dulnain Bridge, and dates the stones to the Bronze Age.
In the later Middle Ages the site was the assembly place of the local courts, and the rallying-place of the Grants of Freuchie (Oram 1996).
Add to Bibliography:
Oram, Richard 1996. Moray and Badenoch. A Historical Guide, pp. 32-3 <4>

The standing stones here were discussed in a paper by Douglas Scott in the Archaeoastronomy journal. Three stones from an alignment of six remain standing. Not all of the stones are intervisible, but combinations of the stones appear to be aligned on significant astronomical events. The full description in the article refers to a plan in which the stones are labelled A to F. The article cannot be made available online for copyright reasons, but is available at Highland Council HQ. The stone described in this particular record would appear to be stone A. <4>