Prehistoric Clava Cairns near Inverness Scotland

Bronze Age Passage Graves and Standing Stones at Balnuran of Clava

May 3, 2009

Clava Cairns is a peaceful ancient setting of prehistoric passage graves and standing stones near Inverness.

Balnuran of Clava is only a mile or so from the much-visited Culloden Battlefield, but is a world apart in atmosphere. Three ancient mounds of round boulders lie in a wooded glade. Their appearance is deceptive, for the inner chamber is open to the elements nowadays. In prehistoric times the boulders would have formed an enclosed space, and the two cairns which feature an entrance passage would have been dark and enclosed rather than the airy and open structures that they are to the modern eye.

The north-eastern site, closest to the car park, would have had an inner chamber about three meters high. However, the entrance passage was low, so people would have had to crawl along the passage to get into the inner chamber.

In general the chamber would have been dark. However, on the shortest day of the year, at the Winter Solstice, the setting sun would shine its rays along the passage, illuminating the chamber. This point, where the light of the sun is at its weakest and the night is longest, was of great significance to prehistoric Man - it marked the point from which the forces of light would begin to gather strength as the Sun returned from its lowest point. The back of the chamber of the cairn has some lighter coloured quartz-containing rocks which will have enhanced this effect. This cair also has some cup and ring marks on the kerb stones - deliberately carved depressions in the surface of the stones.

The middle cairn was not completely enclosed. This is a type of ring cairn, surrounded by standing stones (like the other two sites at Clava, the passage-graves). The cairn is linked to three of the stones in the circle by a line of stones, now covered by grass. The significance of this is not known.

The south-eastern cairn is similar to the north-eastern passage-grave, and has a similar alignment of the passage with the midwinter setting sun. With this cair the stones flanking the passage have cup and ring marks. Unfortunately the road cuts the circle of stones on this cairn, marooning one of the stones on the other side of the road.

These cairns are thought to date from the Late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (2500-1700 BC)

Visiting the Clava Cairns

The Clava Cairns are signposted from the B9006 leading to Culloden Moor. There is parking and a small picnic site nearby.

GPS Location of Balnuran of Clava (Clava Cairns)

References

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