The eastern 'end' of the mound looks less steep then the 'west' end, so perhaps the orthostat's E/W orientation represents that of the tumulus itself. Its central concavity is about 6.8m by 5 and is a combination of stones and slabs like that in the general matrix. At the seaward side of this is the orthostat, which projects 67cm at the east end by 60cm at the west, and is 70cm long by 17 thick. It sits in a kind of pocket of flaky rocks - the RCAMS Inventory's "slaty material" - which extends for 2.2m to the west of the stone's east end and 1.6m north. All in all this would seem to confirm an E/W orientation for the whole.
Amongst the flakes and rock fragments I found a solitary 4cm fragment of semi-burnt bone (despite distinct carination I'm fairly certain it isn't pot, not with all those tiny bubbles) presumably extracted by mammals as my eyes found nothing further there.
At the base to the N/NE is what looks like a test pit 1 x 0.7 x 0.3 metres, but I am not sure if the contents are indicative of the mound's basal material or the old ground surface it was built upon. In front of them a stone 0.5 x 0.25m projects 7-18cm from the ground. Towards the sea, 8m from the east side of the base is a mound, approximately 5 by 4.2m and less than 0.3m high at the perimeter, containing several stones similar to those in the main mound.
RCAHMS NMRS record no. ND59NW 1 at ND52619915 was conical before somoeone hoicked out the top, and still stands 7'6" high. It is reported as a turf-covered mound of small flat slabs (RCAMS 1946 fragile slaty material) and is roughly 70' across. Despite the damage it is believed that a 2'3" x 2'4" x 6" stone projecting from the depression on an E/W alignment is the top of an undisturbed chamber maybe 7' high.
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Posted by wideford
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