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Imir nam Fear MoraCairn(s)
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Visited 26.7.13 Directions: After visiting the two famous Brochs near Glenelg take the rough, minor road north towards the ferry terminal. Shortly before arriving at the terminal the two Cairns can be easily seen in a field on your right at the centre of the bay. Two large Cairns next to each other. One was crowded with sheep whilst the other only had one sheep on it – perhaps he was ‘Billy (the goat) no mates’!! Access to the Cairns is via the usual barbed wire fence and across a field of spiky grass; but you can get a good look at them from the road if you prefer. There are good coastal views to be had and when originally built these Cairns would have been very prominent to passing seafarers. Which I guess was the intention? Not really worth the visit unless you were heading this way to catch the ferry to Skye. I didn’t have the time or opportunity to have a look for the nearby cup-marked stone. Canmore states: ‘The remains of two cairns on the brink of a raised beach. The eastern one is a turf covered stony mound 11m in diameter and 1.5m high. The centre appears to be intact. The other cairn is now a mutilated turf covered stony mound 16m in diameter and 1m high. The area is still traditionally known as a burial ground'. 'A cup-marked stone, with some of the cups connected by channels is situated a little NW of the cairns. It is a large slab of natural rock by the side of a small hazel wood on the right of where a gate crosses the road to Kyle Rhea. At the base of the rock are at least 12 small, shallow cup-marks, one pair joined together in a barbell shape, and 5 grooves, approx 6inches long’. |
Posted by CARL 13th August 2013ce |
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"The first famous people to use Kylerhea were the Fiennes. Glenelg and Kylerhea have always been their country. According to tradition they were a race of fair and powerful giants, great hunters and fighters; they were either pre-Celtic or Celtic and came to Scotland from Ireland, and to Skye from Glenelg, one of their chief strongholds. Their chief was Fionn. A. R. Forbes in his Place Names of Skye recounts how two large burial-mounds were found at Imir nam Fear Mora (Field of the Big Men) in Glenelg. These were believed to have been opened in the presence of the then Minister of Sleat, who bore witness that in them were found the bones of huge men, bigger than any alive at that time. The Fiennes defended the Highlands from the sea pirates. Their leader, Fionn, was not only a great warrior but had a 'tooth of wisdom' which, when pressed, would answer any question truly." - Otta F. Swire, Skye: The Island and its Legends, 1961, pp. 188-9. The 1:50000 scale OS map records two cairns at this location. The 1:25000 scale OS map does not show these cairns, but does list a "cup-marked stone". |
Posted by TomBo28th June 2004ce Edited 28th June 2004ce |
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