Showing 1-50 of 102 posts. Most recent first | Next 50       
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This is a rather splendid example of an Orkney-Cromarty chambered cairn.
Situated in mature birch woodlands about 1/4 mile west of Kinrive West long cairn, first impressions are wow!
There is a real impression of scale and size. Although the body of the cairn is long since gone, the outer circumference is visible in its entirety. This serves to frame the remaining huge and regularly shaped chamber stones.
Unfortunately these remaining stones are in such a jumble it was difficult for my untrained eye to put some order to what I was seeing. I was actually quite content just to sit on a tree trunk and enjoy the very positive feeling these massive stones exemplify in a very special setting.
Theres a very well preserved cist in the NW quarter.
Access is relatively easy, if a little damp underfoot.
Visited Fri 23rd Sept 2011
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_080/80_025_033.pdf
http://her.highland.gov.uk/hbsmrgatewayhighland/DataFiles/LibraryLinkFiles/37169.pdf
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This is Kinrive Wests' wee brother. This cairn is as short as the West cairn is long.
Only about 40ft long by 20ft wide, lying about 150ft east of its big brother, and sitting on a more east -west axis. To be honest it doesnt look like a long cairn.
The major part of the western section of the cairn has been robbed out but the eastern part is virtually intact.
There are 3 grave markers atop little mounds on the cairn - farm pets judging by the inscriptions. a bit weird and surreal seeing the cairn still being used for its original purpose.......!
A large and recently placed pile of stones on top of the cairn had my imagination working overtime - no grave marker though!
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This cairn - the 1st of 3 that I visited this day is only about 3 miles from my front door and its taken me 2 years to get round to visiting it.
The term long cairn could have been invented to describe this rather large monument. It is in excess of 200ft long running roughly east-west and about a uniform 45ft wide. Due to the slope of the hill it is about 3-4m tall on the lower edge and about 1m tall on the upper edge.
The cairn lies at the lower edge of cultivated upland pasture which is surrounded by mature birch woodland. The surrounding fields are full of regular shaped lumps and bumps (and sheep) - some of which are described on the FC info board which sits on a plinth just below the cairn.
With the exception of some robber holes, the cairn looks virtually intact to me ( which is a bit of a surprise given the almost total destruction of the nearby Kings Head cairn) although there are no signs of any horns. There are some enormous (clearance) stones on the northern flank. I couldnt see any sign of the stone wall mentioned in Canmore.
I know (from Henshall) that the RCAHMS has done extensive field surveys on this hillside. I would love to see the results.
I spoke to one of the lads who farms here. He said he has never been asked before about the cairns- he only sees the occasional mountain biker who uses the road to access the hilltops and tracks over the hill into Strathrory and the Struie .The FC info board was built years ago - shame that no-one sees it.
Site visited Fri 23rd Sept 2011
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Nice stone this - remembered it from Brac - sitting earthfast all on its own on the edge of a field. Loads of prehistory in this glen - but no other known rock art.
Theres some intriguing lines and marks in the pics that I didnt see by eye.
This is one of many prehistory sites on the road to the Boath Cairns and is an easy 20 minute walk from the road.
Visited 22nd Sept 11.
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Important archaeological find preserved thanks to slow motion tree felling
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/AllByUNID/8F39E72FC224AABF802577D2004D9456
The modern Forestry Commission have to be commended for their far-thinking approach to land management and the proactive preservation of our heritage.
There are other local instances (which I'll dig out)where the Commission team here in the North have contributed to the the vast cache of archeological gems which have been largely hidden and forgotten since many huge stands of conifers were planted in the 40's and 50's.
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As usual I left this monument with more questions than answers!
After a tremendous 5 mile walk through Forestry Commission tracks and some easy OS navigation, this Scheduled Cairn was one that I've wanted to visit for a while.
Lying on an elevated platform in the Morangie Forest, its certainly in a quiet and peaceful spot. A wee bit of a climb from the track through fairly open pine woods leads to this impressive Long Cairn opening out nicely as you puff and pant upwards.
The extant of this monument is fairly impressive. It maintains a regular height/length/breadth throughout. The body of the Cairn is interspersed with at least 15 large,deep and uniform (robber?) holes.
There is also the remains of a very old building wall disecting part of the cairn about midway down its length. Strangely (from my limited knowledge) there is no evidence of this building anywhere else on the cairn. The cairn maintains its shape throughout. What kind of building it could have been on such an elevated slope is a mystery - Although there are the remains of 2 Historic townships and field systems on the floor of the Glen not very far away.
But the strangest mystery to me was a little bunch of (very old) artificial flowers sitting in a little oasis atop the highest part of the monument - it was one of those "what the.......? moments. So totally out of place, I'm still wondering who would have put them there and why.
Forestry Commission plantations seem almost timeless and its easy to forget that up until fairly recently land-use in many of these remote Glens was totally different. These Glens were once the home and workplaces of many families.
But there is something about this cairn that seems to cross the ages. Difficult for me to put into words, but my impression of this Cairn was that it meant something to people until fairly recently.
With every Cairn I visit, I feel I learn a little more, BUT, I also feel there is even more I dont understand!!
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Showing 1-50 of 102 posts. Most recent first | Next 50
I grew up in the central Highlands surrounded by the past and listening to stories of the past.
I have worked my whole life on the sea - I now have a real obsession to get away from it!!! The sea in my blood?? ......... b....cks!!
My passions are the wild and remote hills, glens and mountainsides of the Scottish Highlands. Mix in my dog, boots, an OS map and prehistory - Heaven!!
Not for me the potted History of Scotland AD....... nae interested. The mysteries of the peoples who populated these shores BC?.... now you've got me.
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