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Salen, cairn 180m north of head of Salen Bay

A Scheduled Monument in Fort William and Ardnamurchan, Highland

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Coordinates

Latitude: 56.7186 / 56°43'7"N

Longitude: -5.7777 / 5°46'39"W

OS Eastings: 168940

OS Northings: 764923

OS Grid: NM689649

Mapcode National: GBR DB3Y.Y0N

Mapcode Global: WH0DW.6DY8

Entry Name: Salen, cairn 180m N of head of Salen Bay

Scheduled Date: 13 December 2000

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Source ID: SM7812

Schedule Class: Cultural

Category: Prehistoric ritual and funerary: cairn (type uncertain)

Location: Ardnamurchan

County: Highland

Electoral Ward: Fort William and Ardnamurchan

Traditional County: Argyllshire

Description

The monument comprises a cairn of prehistoric date, visible as a moss-covered mound.

The monument lies in an area of woodland at around 20m OD. It comprises a cairn measuring approximately 8m in diameter and about 1m in height. At the centre of the cairn are the remains of a cist measuring about 1m long by some 0.5m wide. The cist was excavated in 1917 and was found to contain human remains. Cairns of this type are funerary monuments dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found. It is circular with a diameter of 30m, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of prehistoric funerary and ritual practices. Its importance is increased by its proximity to other monuments of potentially contemporary date. Although the main burial cist has been emptied, the cairn is likely to preserve further evidence relating to funerary practices and also to contemporary land use and environment.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NM 66 SE 2.

Bibliography:

Turner, W. (1917) 'A contribution to the craniology of the people of Scotland'. Part II prehistoric, descriptive and ethnographical'. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, volume 51, 171-255.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

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