This
cairn, a low mound of water-worn boulders much plundered for stone in the
past, is still about 20m in diameter. A limekiln was also driven into its
west side.
There is no chamber, but three cists. The central one (its massive cover
slab seen in the photo) is possibly the earliest. Its side-slabs were grooved
at one end to give the end-slab a tighter fit.
To the south of it there are two other cists. In the southernmost one, one
of the end-slabs is decorated with seven pecked axeheads. Another carving
of a boat or a beribonned halberd was destroyed in a fire, but a cast is
preserved in the Royal Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh.
The site was excavated in 1870, 1929 and 1936: only some cremated bones
were found.
In care of Historic Scotland |