Scheduled MonumentsScotlandRubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish
Cairn, north ballachulish

Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish

Scotland
HES SM3289
Site type
Cairn, north ballachulish
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Rubha Mor is a cairn located at North Ballachulish in Inverness-shire, Scotland. Built upon bedrock of the Appin Group, the monument sits on complex Neoproterozoic geology comprising graphitic pelite, calcareous pelite, calcsilicate-rock and psammite. This ancient mineral foundation, formed over 600 million years ago, underlies the coastal landscape where the cairn was constructed.

The cairn represents a prehistoric monument type common throughout the Scottish Highlands, typically erected as a burial monument or ritual marker. Its precise chronology and original dimensions are characteristic of Bronze Age funerary practices in this region, though such monuments often accumulated material and were modified across several centuries of use.

Today Rubha Mor is protected as a scheduled monument under the care of Historic Environment Scotland, registered under reference SM3289. The site remains an important archaeological record of prehistoric settlement and ceremony in the North Ballachulish area, preserving evidence of human activity on these ancient geological foundations overlooking the Loch Leven landscape.

Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3289. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish?

Rubha Mor is a cairn located at North Ballachulish in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3289.

Who is responsible for protecting Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish?

Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish 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 SM3289.

What other scheduled monuments are near Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including North Ballachulish, prehistoric ritual site NNE of Hotel (0.3 km), Ballachulish Home Farm, burial mound SW of Ballachulish Hotel (0.6 km), Ballachulish Pier,Appin-murder memorial cairn (2.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish

Rubha Mor, cairn, North Ballachulish stands on Appin Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is graphitic pelite, calcareous pelite, calcsilicate-rock and psammite.