Description

The monument comprises the remains of a long cairn, a ritual and funerary monument dating from the Neolithic period (c. 4000-2000 BC). The monument was first scheduled in 1963, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains; the current re-scheduling rectifies this.

This substantial long cairn lies in the middle of an arable field, on the summit of Gourdon Hill, at a height of 136m OD. The cairn is aligned approximately NE to SW and decreases in both width and height towards the SW. The cairn is about 46m long in total, 14m wide and 1.7m high at the NE end, and 8m wide and 1m high at the SW end. It is constructed of small rounded boulders and angular stones with some earth. The long cairn is mostly turf-covered, though with some stones exposed here and there. There is no sign of a burial chamber.

The area to be scheduled is sub-rectangular in shape. It measures 62m long by 33m wide at the NE east end, narrowing to 24m at the SW end. It includes the remains of the long cairn and an area around it in which traces of activities associated with the construction and use of the monument may survive, as shown in red on the attached map. The area to be scheduled follows the line of the enclosing fence, which is itself excluded from the scheduling for the purposes of maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland