Excavation of a number of Graves in a Mound at Ackergill, Caithness

With a Report on the Skeletal Remains from the Graves

Abstract

A number of stone-built long cists within a long mound were excavated. Graves 1-4 were contained within square or nearly square settings of stone, in the form of a kerb, either built, or composed. of slabs set on edge. The burials were made in cists, and the cists were surrounded and covered with boulders and stones, with a top layer of white quartzite pebbles covering all. Each cist contained a single individual, although in the same enclosure there might be one or more cists.\r\nIn graves 5 and 6 the outer construction and shape differ. In each case the inner receptacle for the burials consisted of a sub-oval stone-lined chamber or large built cist, in which there were two or more burials, but the external form of the monument might be either rectangular or circular. The only artefact was a bronze chain around the neck of one of the individuals. There is evidence to suggest that burial took place over an extended period.