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Olcote

Kerbed Cairn

<b>Olcote</b>Posted by postmanImage © Chris Bickerton
Also known as:
  • Breasclete Cairn
  • Breasclete Park

Nearest Town:Stornoway (21km E)
OS Ref (GB):   NB218347 / Sheets: 8, 13
Latitude:58° 12' 47.68" N
Longitude:   6° 44' 15.34" W

Added by Kammer


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Photographs:<b>Olcote</b>Posted by postman <b>Olcote</b>Posted by postman <b>Olcote</b>Posted by postman <b>Olcote</b>Posted by postman <b>Olcote</b>Posted by Zeb <b>Olcote</b>Posted by BigSweetie <b>Olcote</b>Posted by BigSweetie <b>Olcote</b>Posted by BigSweetie <b>Olcote</b>Posted by Kammer <b>Olcote</b>Posted by Kammer <b>Olcote</b>Posted by greywether <b>Olcote</b>Posted by greywether <b>Olcote</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Olcote</b>Posted by gyrus Artistic / Interpretive:<b>Olcote</b>Posted by Kammer

Fieldnotes

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Driving south from Dun Carloway en route back to the stones one has to drive past this wonderful absurdity, and a standing stone but I missed that one as I was power sliding round the bend, no of course not, still missed it though.
I didn't miss Olcote cairn as I've been here before, there's still half of it missing, I've looked on the other side of the road but there's nothing there, I'll give it one more try next time but i'm close to believing it's gone for good.
The cist is still nice though, if you stand on the road and crane your neck through the wire fence you can get within a few inches of it. The half that hasn't gone to live on a farm in the countryside is nice in a restored kind of way, most if not all the stone used is that Lewisian gneiss, which is the best looking stone in Britain.
But still,
What the hell? where is the other half? couldn't you have gone round it? what do you mean you didn't know it was there?
Strewth!
postman Posted by postman
11th August 2016ce

Visited 31.5.12

I drove past this kerbed cairn twice before realising where it was.

It was 11.00pm but still light enough to be out ‘old stoning’; write my notes and be able to read the information board! Needless to say there was no one else about. Karen and the children were happily tucked up in bed back at the B+B.

It is great that the cairn has survived at all given that the road cut it in half.
At least there was no traffic at this time of night – only mad people looking at ‘old stones’!
Posted by CARL
4th July 2012ce

No megalithic meditation here due to the proximity of the road. Perhaps best visited on a Sunday (ouch!).

Interesting double kerbed cairn which, from Canmore, appears to be how it was originally constructed. There is a central cist. Over 100 postholes were found under the cairn laid out in a trapezoidal shape. Interesting, especially as the axis of the cairn is aligned with and visible from the Callanish avenue.

Just a little north of the Curtis' home and exhibition area. There's a layby with interpretation board on the other side of the road.

Visited 31 July 2004
greywether Posted by greywether
13th August 2004ce
Edited 19th January 2005ce

Miscellaneous

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RCAHMS records available through CANMORE (NMRS Number: NB23SW 33) describe the cairn in detail. Here's a snippet (with 6 figure grid reference):
NB 2179 3473 In the course of road widening through Breasclete, a hitherto unknown kerb cairn of unusual morphology was revealed. Located 1.6km from the Callanish standing stones, the new site seems to form part of the wider ceremonial complex. When soil stripping for the road improvement scheme began, R and M Curtis discovered a scatter of flaked quartz on the line of the road. Work on the road was delayed by Western Isles Council whilst an excavation was carried out between October and December 1995.
The remainder of the cairn was rebuilt in 1999.
Kammer Posted by Kammer
2nd June 2004ce