Tarradale Through Time, a project of the North of Scotland Archaeological Society, is currently excavating a possible Pictish barrow cemetery near Muir of Ord, a village nine miles east of Inverness. Previous aerial photography and geophysical survey suggested a range of surviving features below the plough soil. Excavation has now confirmed the presence of a number of barrows (burial mounds) and enclosures ranging in size from around eight metres across to over 40 metres. If confirmed to be Pictish, these barrows may be in the region of 1,400 years old, whilst other features on the site could potentially date much further back into the prehistoric period.
Site director Steven Birch said: ‘We are looking at a large potentially Pictish barrow cemetery, where there also appears to be some earlier prehistoric activity. It is a very important site, probably the second largest Pictish cemetery in Scotland, with a number of square and round barrows, as well as larger enclosures. We intend to evaluate the preservation and phasing of these features, obtaining radiocarbon dates from charcoal and bone samples to tell the story of the site over time’.