This illustration is taken from 'The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland' vol.3
Clava Cairns are found near Inverness by the River Nairn. A cairn is a mound of stones. These cairns were built up around circular burial chambers.
There are two burial chambers with passages facing to the south west, the direction of the mid-winter sunset. There is also a ring cairn within a standing stone circle.
The site is of late-Neolithic Age, around 2000BC, at a time when ancestor worship was very important.
Click to enlarge the image, read the text then answer the following questions.
Questions
- Why were these cairns built?
- What does the direction of the passages into the burial chambers tell us about their early beliefs?
- What is 'ancestor worship'?