Clach na Croiche [Balnaguard, Balnaguard Farm] Stone Row / Alignment : The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map:

<< Our Photo Pages >> Clach na Croiche - Stone Row / Alignment in Scotland in Perth and Kinross

Submitted by Big_Sweetie on Saturday, 17 May 2003 Page Views: 9882

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Clach na Croiche Alternative Name: Balnaguard, Balnaguard Farm
Country: Scotland County: Perth and Kinross Type: Stone Row / Alignment

Map Ref: NN94625211 Landranger Map Number: 52
Latitude: 56.648891N Longitude: 3.720221W
Condition:

5	Perfect
4	Almost Perfect
3	Reasonable but with some damage
2	Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1	Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0	No data.
-1	Completely destroyed

3 Ambience:

5	Superb
4	Good
3	Ordinary
2	Not Good
1	Awful
0	No data.

no data Access:

5	Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4	Short walk on a footpath
3	Requiring a bit more of a walk
2	A long walk
1	In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0	No data.

no data Accuracy:

5	co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4	co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3	co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2	co-ordinates of the nearest village
1	co-ordinates of the nearest town
0	no data

5

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SandyG visited on 18th Nov 2016 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Limited car parking available at NN 94606 51862. Access to the row is easiest through the farmyard and permission must be sought before proceeding to the row which is situated behind the farm buildings.

tom_bullock have visited here

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**Clach na Croiche** submitted by Tom_Bullock : Photo used by kind permission of Tom Bullock. More details of this location are to be found on his Stone Circles and Rows CD-ROM. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pair of Standing Stones in Perthshire. Above ground, this site appears to be a solitary standing stone, albeit an impressively large one (at 7' high). However, a combination of ploughing and excavation in the late 1960s and early 1970s revealed this to be the visible remains of an archaeologically interesting area. Two further stones lie buried to the E of the standing stone, at distances of 7.80m and 12.15m, aligned E-W. Close to the eastern boundary of the field, again buried, are three further stones arranged in an arc that would suggest a circle of around 9.0m in diameter, just to the S of the E-W alignment.

Around 1887, a cist was uncovered near the standing stone, and was found to contain a 'food vessel' (type of prehistoric pot), which made its way to the museum at Blair Castle. Coles described it as being "found in a cist in the haugh near Tom-na-Croiche, which is the name of the ground at the standing stone." In 1969, John McBeth, the farmer at Balnaguard, found a short cist while ploughing 12.0m to the NW of the stone, at the highest point of a slight rise (visible at the left of the photo above). Upon excavation, the cist was found to have a partially-cobbled floor. Several finds, including an upturned beaker sitting on sand in one corner, are now in the National Museum. The cist was filled in, and the cover stone now lies at the edge of the field (NN 9455 5205).

In 1971, further excavations took place. The earth around the base of the standing stone was removed to a depth of 0.25m, revealing 7 cup-marks on the S face. Another cup-mark was found on the prostrate stone closest to the upright one. The three buried stones in an arc at the field boundary (NN 9468 5209) were found to be set amongst apparent cairn material of fist-sized smooth stones, covering an area of 6.10m by 3.65m. This was under a layer of 0.25m of plough soil, and was itself 0.3m deep, resting on the sandy subsoil of the field. Under the NE section of these stones the subsoil was found to have dark stains, and produced some cremated bone, carbonised wood, and a small rim sherd possibly from a food vessel. Further S from this area, a thin flat slab of 2.3m length was also found. No socket was found, so it is possible this may have been a cist cover.

For more information see Canmore ID 26373. This single stone row, with one upright and two mainly buried recumbent slabs, is also featured on the Stone Rows of Great Britain - see their entry for Balnaguard, which includes a description, photographs of the three individual stones (of which only a small fraction of stones B and C are visible), access information and links to further online resources for more information.

Directions : Head N from Perth on the A9. After approximately 35.0km, take the road to the right for Aberfeldy at the Ballinluig junction. The road (A827) curves round and back over the A9. Continue through Logierait, and after approximately 5.0km you will cross a bridge over the Tay, and come to a junction. Turn left at the junction on to the B898, and after about 2.0km you will come to Balnaguard. There is space to park at the side of the road in the village. On foot, look for a grassy track to your left (the N side of the village) over an old railway bridge. From here you will be able to see Clach na Croiche in the field below.
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