Description

The monument consists of the remains of a prehistoric chambered burial cairn lying WNW of the highest point of Craonaval. The cairn survives in a very disturbed state. A mound some 10m by 12 stands 1m high. A few stones of an outer kerb are visible, suggesting an original diameter of 16m. The chamber appears to have had two compartments and an entrance from the E.

The inner compartment (that towards the E) has been dug into, but the outer one may be relatively undisturbed. The disturbance to the cairn may be of some considerable activity, as an empty cist lies at the centre of the surviving mound, suggesting the cairn was remodelled in the Bronze Age.

The area to be scheduled is circular, 40m in diameter and centred on the inner chamber of the cairn, to include the cairn and an area around it in which evidence for its construction and use may survive, as indicated in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as one of a large local group of cairns, standing stones and stone circles, without parallel in the Western Isles except at Callanish. In itself it is also of national importance, since it appears to have intact chamber deposits, and there is the possibility of evidence for a remodelling of the cairn in antiquity. These aspects suggest that the monument, upon excavation, could reveal important information regarding the sequence and evolution of burial practices in the area in the Neolithic and succeeding Bronze Age.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NF 86 SW 9.

Reference:

Henshall, A. S. (1972a) The Chambered Tombs of Scotland, vol. 2, 512, Edinburgh.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland