Images

Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by drewbhoy

Maybe the capstone stood once upon a time then was recycled.

Image credit: drew/A/B
Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by Hob

The outlier from the ‘Great X’ in the foreground, just behind the sheep, and North Largie in the background. You can’t see Mid Largie in this shot as it had just nipped out to the shops or somesuch.

Image credit: IH
Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by Kammer

Taken 14th August 2004: The stone in the photo is part of the cist to the south of the main burial cairn.

My fingers are there to indicate two artificial looking grooves in the stone, each about the width of a finger. They are just about visible in the photo, but relatively easy to spot when you’re there.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by greywether

The interior looking towards the rear of the chamber.

Two of the septal stones dividing the four-compartment chamber can be seen.

Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by greywether

The interior looking towards the entrance showing the combination of megaliths and dry stone walling used in the construction.

Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by greywether

The front of the chamber showing the portal stones and some rarely-seen blocking stones (which were used to seal the chamber once it ceased to be used for burials).

Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by Moth

Think this must be the south cairn...taken a long time ago.
(If anyone knows differently, please tell me!)

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by Kammer

Taken August 1987 (possibly 10th): This is a self portait of me inside the chamber, aged 15. You’ll have to excuse the white socks... it was fashionable at the time... honest!

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Image of Nether Largie South (Cairn(s)) by Kammer

Taken August 1987 (possibly 10th): This is a photo of the cairn was taken on my old Olympus Trip in one of my first forays into black and white photography.

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Articles

Nether Largie South

The southern of the three Largie cairns, slightly oval shaped at 34m by 27m. At every angle there is something different to see – in the cairn and the surrounding landscape.

A Clyde chamber can be found along with cists, interestingly it appears that cairn was extended to house two further cists. Sadly one has gone, gladly one remains with its huge capstone.

Its hard to describe these places, pictures do the best talking but one thing they all seem to miss is the Kilmartin burn. I think it’s hugely influential, a source of food, trout were jumping when we walked past, and a link to the sea as it joins the River Add to find salt water at Crinan. The start of the famous canal, water might have played a part in all of this.

Visited 04/04/2023,

Nether Largie South

Visited on 21/5/17 and again on 24/5/17

This is one of the first and oldest monuments in Kilmartin Glen and reminded me a bit of West Kennet Long Barrow back home in Wiltshire. It had been re-used and rebuilt at least twice.

Information taken from the Interpretation Board.
The tomb was used for burial about 4,300 years ago when Beaker pots and flint arrowheads were placed with the dead inside the chamber. A few generations later, in the Early Bronze Age, the monument was remodelled and converted into a circular cairn like the others along the valley bottom. Two stone graves or ‘cists’ containing the remains of important people were added.

See plan of the tomb – this is what was found:

1. Flint, unburnt human bones, ox bones.
2. Pottery, unburnt human bones, ox bones.
3. Three beaker pots, cremated human bones.
4. Slab covering cremated human bones.
5. Empty stone grave with unburnt bones and pottery nearby.
6. Neolithic bowl.
7. Burnt human bones, broken quartz pebbles, flint knives and arrowheads, a cow tooth.

Nether Largie South

Visited 24.7.15

The next stop off on my solo walk around the Kilmartin sites. It was bliss to have the whole place to myself and not have the children in tow. I could stop and look and spend as long as I wanted at whatever I wanted.

The sun was getting low in the sky and the shadows were getting longer. I clambered into the cairn and looked around and marvelled and pondered – all in equal measure. This really is a great site to visit.

I noticed on a post near the cairn that this was podcast number 6. I am sure that will mean something to you hip and trendy I.T. people out there! :)

Nether Largie South

My favourite cain in the group. The fact that you can climb inside made it special for me. I don’t know why but visiting sites where you can climb inside seems very peaceful and somehow connects you to the past – moreso than ‘surface’ only sites. Easy to access but watch your ankles on the loose stones. Didn’t stay as long as I would have liked as Dafydd wanted his bottle – which was in the car!! Cracking place to visit.

Nether Largie South

Access for wheelchairs and/or buggies, like most of the high profile monuments in Kilmartin, is pretty good, no awkward kissing gates, decent going on the paths.

Beware wary if encouraging small children to stick their heads out of the gap at the front of the chamber to shout hello at their Mum. My daughter did this, and nearly gave the fella sitting on top of the cairn a heart attack.

Nether Largie South

The sun was just starting to melt the frost making this cairn glisten in the clear, bright morning sunlight. The chamber looks great.

I moved to a safe distance while a group of kids played around the chamber for 10 minute, and just took in my first taste of this incredible sacred landscape. Later on, in the pub, I overheard a group of local kids playing pool, talking about ‘the tombs’. A mother of one of the kids, sat chatting with two american tourists, spoke of how ‘the kids round here really love their stones!‘

Sites within 20km of Nether Largie South