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Culnakirk Burn burnt mounds is a prehistoric cooking site located 540 metres north-north-west of Garbeg Cottage in Inverness-shire, Scotland. Burnt mounds are common archaeological features across the Highlands, typically consisting of heaps of fire-cracked stone accumulated during repeated heating and cooling cycles. The site sits on bedrock of the Glenfinnan Group, Neoproterozoic psammite and pelite deposits that dominate the local geology and would have provided suitable stone for the heating process.
These monuments date principally to the Bronze Age, though some may have been used into later periods. They represent the waste products of an ancient thermal technology, likely used for cooking foodstuffs or heating water for industrial purposes such as textile processing. The clusters of fire-altered stones mark the locations where activities were conducted over extended periods, sometimes by permanent or semi-permanent communities.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM11441, recognising its archaeological significance and potential to contribute to understanding of Bronze Age subsistence practices and settlement patterns in the Highlands.
Culnakirk Burn, burnt mounds 540m NNW of Garbeg Cottage is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11441. View the official record →
Culnakirk Burn burnt mounds is a prehistoric cooking site located 540 metres north-north-west of Garbeg Cottage in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11441.
Culnakirk Burn, burnt mounds 540m NNW of Garbeg Cottage is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM11441.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Garbeg, settlement 1160m NNW of Garbeg Cottage (0.6 km), Clachmhor, cup-marked stone (0.9 km), Garbeg Cottage, burial mounds 920m NNE of (0.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Culnakirk Burn, burnt mounds 540m NNW of Garbeg Cottage's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Culnakirk Burn, burnt mounds 540m NNW of Garbeg Cottage stands on Glenfinnan Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite and pelite.