Second Bronze Age cist uncovered at building site
A SECOND 4000-year-old grave has been discovered at a development site close to the shores of Loch Ness where the remains of a Bronze Age bowman were discovered two years ago.
Archaeologists uncovered the small stone-lined grave, or cist, after being called back to the mixed-use site at Drumnadrochit by the developers during site clearance.
Although soil had filled the grave – which was covered by a large sandstone capping stone – and caused degradation to the burial, excavation revealed it contained a single beaker pot.
It follows the 2015 discovery of a Bronze Age cist containing human remains during the development of the new Drumnadrochit Medical Centre nearby. A wrist guard, for use with a bow and arrow, and shards of pottery were also discovered in an adjoining cist.
The newly discovered beaker is of a similar size with a less ornate design. It features simple incised decoration similar to other Scottish examples dating to between 2200-1900BC.
Future analysis at a specialist laboratory in Edinburgh will confirm if, like the medical centre beaker, it contained an offering at the time of burial.
The site, which will include mixed housing, is being developed by Compass Building and Construction Services and Loch Ness Homes.
Mary Peteranna, Inverness operations manager for AOC Archaeology, described the finds as "exciting".
"The discovery of a second Bronze Age cist on the site provides increasing evidence for the special selection of this site in the prehistoric landscape as a location for ceremonial funerary activity," she said.
"This cist, along with the medical centre cist and a second burial pit, is generating much more information about the prehistory of Glen Urquhart."
"Historically, there was a large cairn shown on maps of the area but you can imagine that centuries of ploughing in these fields have removed any upstanding reminders of prehistoric occupation.
"During the work, we actually found a displaced capstone from another grave that either has not survived or has not yet been discovered. So it’s quite likely that these graves were covered by stone cairns or mounds, long-since ploughed out."
