Description

The monument consists of a chambered cairn, around which and into which later structures have been built. The cairn itself has been 18m in diameter, and still stands to 4m high. The plan has been circular, and a few upright stones representing the outer perimeter survive. The cairn was entered from the west, and what may be the upper stones of a central chamber 3m across can be seen in the centre of the mound.

Later structures have been built to the SW and NE. These appear to be shielings, but in the NE traces of underlying walling suggest earlier disturbance. The area to be scheduled is circular, 50m in diameter, to include the cairn, the spreads of stone around it within which are the shielings, and an area of ground adjacent which may contain evidence for the construction, use and subsequent re-use of the site.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance for the evidence it can provide, through excavation, for Neolithic funerary practices. The ground sealed beneath it can provide important information regarding land-use during the period, and the sequence of later structures illustrates the re-use of established centres of activity in what has always been extremely marginal land.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NF 85 SW 5.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland