Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM3070_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600009189)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a cairn dating to the Early Bronze Age and surviving as a low cairn defined by an outer kerb, and a single upstanding monolith. It lies in cultivated land on the coastal plain, between the River Nairn and the S shore of the Moray Firth, at 160 m above sea level. The monument was first scheduled in 1971, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains; the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The cairn, probably the remains of a chambered cairn or ring cairn, is roughly circular in plan (approximately 19 m in diameter) and displays similar features and components to the neighbouring complex of cairns at Balnuaran of Clava where central cairns are surrounded by an outer ring of standing stones. Overall the monument is likely to have been about 28 m in diameter, an estimate based on the sole survivor of an outer stone circle, a single stone sitting at nearly 2 m high, some 8 m to the S of the cairn. Several kerbstones are visible on the N, NE and S of the cairn. Large boulders similar in size to those surviving at Culchunaig have been recorded in nearby dykes and field boundaries. One of these larger stones bears the surviving relief of prehistoric rock art in the shape of cupmarks. It is possible that this and other boulders are field-cleared remnants of the monument, but we cannot prove this.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, to include the visible remains and an area around them in which traces of associated activity may be expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monument's archaeological significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics: The cairn has been disturbed and material removed prior to the first recorded field visit in 1884. Despite this, features and components of the basic cairn structure and identifiable elements of Clava-type monuments are visible (such as the cairn, kerb and circle of outlying monoliths). The monument therefore has good potential to contribute to the archaeological record and the understanding of Early Bronze-Age and later funerary practice. It is also likely to seal an old land surface that contains information about the prehistoric environment that existed at the time when it was built.

Contextual characteristics: This monument is an example of a small group of about 50 prehistoric cairns, known as Clava cairns, which are only found in the Inverness and Moray Firth area, particularly along river valleys and low ground south of the Firth. Examples generally include components of stone circles, ring cairns and passage graves. The monument is located within 2 km to the west of a dense concentration of similar types at Clava, on the north side of the River Nairn. Its proximity to a river or water course is a shared feature among the class and it does not appear to dominate a wide landscape, again like the examples at Clava. During recent investigations in the Clava area, Professor Richard Bradley noted the significance in the setting of these monuments and reinforced this in referring to Culchunaig.

Associative characteristics: Monuments such as Culchunaig have been the subject of a long tradition of antiquarian, archaeological and more general interest.

It is the view of most prehistorians that there was an intimate relationship between the religious beliefs expressed by monuments such as Culchunaig, the surrounding landscape and the movements of the main astronomical bodies. This astronomical link continues to generate considerable interest today.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it represents a rare and regionally distinctive class of Early Bronze Age monument that can help us to understand burial and ritual practices in NE Scotland and their relationship to practices elsewhere in the British Isles. It is a key component of an extensive and well-preserved cemetery centred around the River Nairn at Clava and has the potential to provide important information about the activities that took place here and how these contribute to the development of this ceremonial landscape as a whole. As one of the few examples surviving on the higher, N bank of the River Nairn, its visibility and intervisibility with contemporary and later monuments appears to be significant. Its loss would limit the ability to understand the wider context of funerary practice in the Early Bronze Age of NE Scotland.

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.