About
Clava Cairns, set within a clearing of mature birch and beech woodland a mile south-east of Culloden Moor near Inverness, constitute one of the most remarkable and best-preserved prehistoric monument complexes in Scotland — a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age burial site of extraordinary completeness, beauty, and scientific significance. The complex comprises three circular stone cairns surrounded by rings of standing stones, connected by stone-kerbed avenues, all constructed around 2000 BC and preserved almost intact for four thousand years. Managed as a free open-access site by Historic Environment Scotland, Clava Cairns rewards visits at any time of year and in any weather.
The cairns are of two distinct types that illustrate the full range of Neolithic mortuary practice in northern Scotland. Two of the three cairns are passage graves — each with a low stone-lined passage leading from the south-west into a central circular chamber once used for communal burial. The third cairn is a ring cairn: a circular stone ring enclosing a central space that was never roofed or intended for burial in the conventional sense, suggesting a ceremonial function distinct from the passage graves. All three cairns are surrounded by rings of standing stones, some more than two metres in height, creating complex monuments of great architectural ambition for their time.
Perhaps the most scientifically significant aspect of Clava Cairns is its astronomical alignment. The south-west passages of the two passage graves are oriented precisely to capture the setting sun at the winter solstice — the moment of midwinter when the sun reaches its lowest point and the symbolic rebirth of the year begins. On clear midwinter evenings, the setting sun illuminates the interior of the south-west passage grave's central chamber in a moment of dramatic and intentional beauty. This alignment, replicated at other Clava-type cairns across northern Scotland, demonstrates sophisticated astronomical observation among Neolithic communities and places Clava alongside Maeshowe in Orkney as a monument of international importance for understanding prehistoric cosmology.
Clava Cairns has given its name to the entire class of monument — 'Clava cairns' — found across the Inverness area and throughout northern Scotland, making it the type-site of a significant regional burial tradition. The cup-marks (circular hollows ground into the stones' surfaces) visible on many of the cairn and circle stones represent some of the earliest abstract art in Scotland. Situated just one mile from Culloden Battlefield, Clava Cairns is accessible as part of any Inverness visit, pairing the prehistoric past with one of the most significant sites of Scotland's post-medieval history.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Busiest: Saturday, Sunday
💡 Early morning or late afternoon for atmospheric low light. Winter solstice sunset for the astronomical alignment. Combine with Culloden Battlefield (1 mile) for a half-day visit.
💡 Visitor Tips
- Clava Cairns is freely accessible at all times with no admission charge — simply park in the small HES car park and walk the short path to the site. The absence of a visitor centre means the monuments are encountered directly, without mediation.
- Combine with Culloden Battlefield (1.5 km north-west) for a morning that spans 4,000 years of Highland history — from prehistoric ritual in 2000 BC to the final Jacobite defeat in 1746. Both sites are within easy driving distance.
- Arrive at dawn or visit in late afternoon for the most atmospheric experience. Low-angled light in the mornings and evenings dramatises the stones and enhances the woodland setting enormously.
- Visit on or near the winter solstice (around December 21) to witness the dramatic solar alignment — the setting sun illuminating the passage grave chamber as it does each year at midwinter. Check exact sunset time for the date and arrive 30 minutes before.
- Walk between all three cairns — the north-east passage grave, the central ring cairn, and the south-west passage grave — and look for the cup-marks on the standing stones. They are easy to miss on a quick walk-through but reward patient searching.
- There are no toilets, cafe, or other facilities at Clava Cairns. Use facilities at the Culloden Visitor Centre (1.5 km) before or after your visit, or ensure you have refreshments in the car.
- The site is open at night and on clear winter nights offers exceptional dark-sky conditions close to Inverness. The absence of artificial lighting on site makes winter evening visits particularly atmospheric.
- Wear waterproof footwear and bring rain gear — the grassy paths between cairns can be muddy after rain, and the site is exposed to Scottish Highland weather in all seasons.
Highlights
The North-East Passage Grave
The largest and best-preserved of Clava's three cairns, the north-east passage grave is a circular cairn of close-set boulders and rubble approximately 18 metres in diameter, surrounded by a ring of nine standing stones. Its south-west-facing passage, stone-lined and approximately 6 metres long, leads to a central circular chamber over 3.
5 metres in diameter — once roofed with corbelled stonework and used for the communal burial of the dead.
Thousands of years of agricultural disturbance and stone robbing have reduced the cairn to its current height of approximately 2 metres, yet the structural integrity remains remarkable. This cairn provides the clearest evidence of the passage grave architecture and the sophisticated building skills of Neolithic communities in northern Scotland around 2000 BC.
The South-West Passage Grave and Winter Solstice Alignment
The south-west passage grave at Clava is one of the most scientifically significant prehistoric monuments in Scotland, its south-west-facing passage deliberately oriented to capture the setting sun at the winter solstice around December 21 each year. On clear midwinter evenings, the setting sun's light travels down the passage and illuminates the back of the central burial chamber in a dramatic display of intentional solar symbolism — the moment when the sun's power, at its annual minimum, appears to re-enter the earth.
This alignment — replicated at other Clava cairns across Inverness-shire — demonstrates sophisticated astronomical knowledge among the monument's Neolithic builders and connects Clava to a wider tradition of solstice-oriented monuments including Maeshowe in Orkney and Newgrange in Ireland.
The Ring Cairn
The central monument at Clava is a ring cairn — a circular stone enclosure of different type from the passage graves, with no roofed chamber and no entrance passage. Its meaning remains debated: was it a ceremonial space, an open-air sacred enclosure, or a burial monument of a different architectural tradition?
Its surrounding stone circle is among the best-preserved at Clava, with several stones still standing to impressive heights.
The ring cairn represents the diversity of mortuary and ceremonial practice in Neolithic northern Scotland and demonstrates that Clava was not a single-function burial ground but a complex sacred landscape serving multiple ritual purposes. Its position between the two passage graves creates a tripartite monument group of considerable architectural sophistication.
The Standing Stone Circles
Each of Clava's three cairns is encircled by a ring of standing stones — monoliths of varying heights positioned at regular intervals around the cairn's perimeter to create a formal outer boundary for the monument. Some stones approach two metres in height; others are lower and more irregular, reflecting either original variation or differential settling over four millennia.
The standing stones at Clava are notable for their graded heights — taller stones on the south-west side, shorter on the north-east — suggesting they were deliberately arranged to mark the solar axis.
The interplay of cairn, stone circle, and connecting avenues creates a complex monument landscape that can only be fully appreciated by walking among and between the three cairns and reading the relationships between their constituent elements.
Collections
Clava Cairns is an archaeological monument rather than a museum with moveable collections. The site's heritage assets are the three prehistoric cairns, nine standing stone circles, connecting stone-kerbed avenues, and the cup-marked stones — all surviving from construction around 2000 BC in an exceptional state of preservation.
The site gave its name to the 'Clava cairns' class of monument found across northern Scotland, making it the type-site of a significant regional burial and ceremonial tradition.
Archaeological investigations from the nineteenth century onwards have produced finds now held in national collections (primarily the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh). The HES interpretation panels on site and the published archaeological literature are the primary interpretive resources for visitors.
The Three Cairns — Passage Graves and Ring Cairn
The complete monument complex — two passage graves and one ring cairn — preserved in exceptional condition across 4,000 years. Visitors explore the site freely, reading the interpretation panels that explain the archaeology, architectural types, and ritual significance of each monument.
📍 The Clava site, accessible via waymarked paths
The Stone Circles and Cup-marked Stones
The standing stone circles surrounding each cairn, with cup-mark petroglyphs on multiple stones providing evidence of the site's multi-period use and symbolic significance. These elements are freely accessible and reward close examination.
📍 Encircling all three cairns
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.