Clava Cairns

Clava Cairns is one of Scotland's most evocative prehistoric sites, an ancient cemetery on a terrace above the River Nairn, a few hundred yards from Culloden Battlefield. At Balnuaran of Clava, in a small wood, three large cairns built around 4,000 years ago stand in a line, each with a central chamber and ringed by standing stones; the two outer cairns are passage graves, and their passages face the midwinter sunset, with the tallest circle stones graded towards the setting sun. A thousand years later the site was reused for new burials and smaller monuments, including a kerb cairn. Many stones carry cup marks, perhaps taken from an earlier sacred place, and the group gave its name to some 50 Clava cairns found only around the Moray Firth and Inverness. Probably only one or two people were buried in each, perhaps important individuals. A short walk south-west, Milton of Clava has another cairn and the remains of a medieval chapel. Come early, before the coach parties arrive.