Description

The monument comprises a long cairn, a chambered burial place of Neolithic date. It was scheduled in 1938, but the area designated at that time was not large enough to protect the whole cairn or the area of archaeological importance around it. Hence this extension.

The cairn lies on a rise on the W bank of the Forss Water. It is oriented NE-SW and is about 40m long. Its width tapers from a maximum of 18m at the SE to 11m at the NW. The cairn is largely grass covered, although traces of a kerb of larger stones are visible, particularly at the NW and SE extremities. There is no trace of a chamber or entrance passage.

The area now to be scheduled is rectangular, 60m NW-SE by 40m, to include the cairn and an area around it in which evidence relating to its construction and use is likely to survive.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a relatively well preserved example of Neolithic long cairn, which shows no obvious signs of having been seriously disturbed since its construction. It has the potential to provide important information about prehistoric ritual and funerary practices, and may contain deposits capable of providing anatomical and genetic material relating to the Neolithic inhabitants of Caithness and environmental evidence relating to contemporary vegetation and land-use.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS - ND06SE 21

Source: Historic Environment Scotland