A reduced cairn beside the Cromarty Firth still shelters a stone-lined cist beneath a massive capstone, preserving a vulnerable fragment of prehistoric Alness.
Quick facts
- Date
- Late Neolithic or Bronze Age
- Architect / designer
- Unknown prehistoric community
- Type
- Low round burial cairn with central stone-lined cist
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM2970)
- OS grid reference
- NH 66621 69520
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
The cairn survives as a low stony mound about sixteen metres across, its edge partly disguised by a later circular wall. Near the centre, a large capstone covers a stone-lined cist; below-ground deposits may extend beyond what is visible.
Its story
The monument was probably raised in the late third or second millennium BC. Antiquarian accounts describe reduction of a larger mound around 1810, while later survey recognised the surviving cist and human-remains evidence. Scheduling was updated in 2016.
Why it is included
National scheduling protects an unusually legible lowland coastal burial cairn with strong potential for surviving human, artefactual and environmental evidence.
What to notice
- The low mound defined by a later circular wall.
- The large capstone near the centre.
- Its position on low ground close to the Cromarty Firth.
Reading the surroundings
Do not cross cultivated ground without permission, disturb stones or approach the cist. Observe any agricultural operations and scheduled-monument protections.
Timeline
- Late 3rd–2nd millennium BC A community constructed the cairn and placed at least one burial in a cist.
- Circa 1810 Stone removal substantially reduced the original mound.
- 1971 The surviving monument received national scheduling.
- 2016 The scheduled documentation and protected area were brought up to modern standards.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The number and date of burials are unknown, and the full extent of undisturbed deposits has not been tested.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Carn Liath, Obsdale, SM2970 — Designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Highland HER: Carn Liath, Obsdale — Antiquarian observations, field-survey history, surviving cist and scheduling amendment.
- Highland HER hosted assessment: Whitehills South, Alness — Recent archaeological baseline description and landscape context for the cairn.
Location
OS grid reference NH 66621 69520 · Location confidence: High: the national designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference; an additional source confirms the Place relationship, history or current identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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