Clava cairn, Neolithic burial site near Inverness, Scotland
Clava Cairn is a Neolithic burial site near Inverness consisting of three stone chambers connected by passages and arranged in a circular pattern. Each chamber is formed from carefully placed stones that create distinct geometric designs visible from the ground.
The site was built around 4000 years ago and served the local community as a burial ground during the Bronze Age. It stands as one of the oldest known structures in the region and shows how ancient people organized their ceremonial practices.
The circular stone arrangements show how ancient people in this region connected their burial grounds to the sky and seasons. Today visitors can see how the stones were positioned to align with natural events that mattered to the community.
Access is available through a designated parking area with marked walking paths to the chambers. The ground is relatively open and manageable on foot with appropriate footwear.
During the winter solstice the central chamber receives direct sunlight through the southwestern passage, an alignment that shows the builders deliberately planned for this astronomical moment. This deliberate positioning reveals that the structure was designed with knowledge of how the sun moves through the seasons.
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