Cairnderry

Nearest town:
Newton Stewart (18km ESE)
OS reference:
NX316799
OS sheet:
76
Latitude:
55° 5' 5.04 N
Longitude:
4° 38' 19.26 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

Large Stones outside E Arc of Cairnderry Cairn.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

E, N & S Chambers of Cairnderry Cairn (L-R) viewed from NNW.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

S, E & N Chambers of Cairnderry Cairn (L-R) viewed from ENE.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

N Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from NNW.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

N Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from NNW.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

Passage Stone of E Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from NNW.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

E Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from ENE.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

E Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from ENE.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

Possible Displaced Capstone 1 foot to S of E Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

S Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from E.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

S Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from S.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by markj99

S Chamber of Cairnderry Cairn viewed from S.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025
Image of Cairnderry (Chambered Tomb) by greywether

The underside of the capstone of the S chamber. Removed for the excavation and temporarily placed this way awaiting the next season.

I’d say the holes are natural given the weathering generally on this stone.

greywether
greywether Feb 20, 2004

Articles

Cairnderry

markj99
markj99 Mar 25, 2025

Visited 24.03.25
On my return visit, I found Cairnderry in an improved condition: The kerb of the cairn was discernible and the exposed chambers in the centre of the cairn were free from vegetation. I was able to reconcile the remains of the cairn with the plan. Cairnderry Cairn is an impressive monument with easy access from the A714, deserving of more visitors.

Cairnderry

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 5, 2010

Noticeably overgrown and ‘let go’ since Greywether’s posts, I had a bit of difficulty trying to reconcile what I saw here..... too wide for a long cairn, etc.... until I caught on that it represented the remains of a multi-chambered round cairn.

The siting, alongside a dusty foresty track with grafitti-defiled signage, within close proximity of the A714, isn’t exactly the most salubrious, but that’s not the monument’s fault, is it?

Perhaps best to visit prior to seeing the nearby White Cairn – an aperitif, if you like – I nevertheless found the site to be a ‘grower’ and well worth a short visit before going to find a wild camp in Glen Trool for the night.

Cairnderry

greywether
greywether Feb 20, 2004

Revisited 19 February 2004

This is another Bargrennan-style tomb (third today!). It is in the process of detailed excavation and has been backfilled since my last visit making the main features easier to make out. Further work will continue this year.

There are three chambers (S with a capstone, E and N) in a round cairn. What looks like the remains of a kerb can also be seen in the W.

Cairnderry

greywether
greywether Dec 8, 2003

In a clearing next to a forestry track just off the A714. Easy parking.

Under excavation when I visited it late one day in August 2003. See link to interim excavation reports.

Miscellaneous

Cairnderry
Chambered Tomb
greywether
greywether Sep 3, 2004

The 2003 excavations uncovered a number of pits below slabs outside the cairn all containing cremated bone and charcoal.

In one of them (just outside one of the cairn’s passage entrances) was an upturned collared urn and a fine battleaxe from early second millennium bce.

Further evidence of the continuing use of Neolithic monuments (or, at least, their location) into the Bronze Age.

Sites within 20km of Cairnderry

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