Description

The monument comprises a prehistoric chambered burial cairn, known locally as 'the Temple'. The cairn was originally scheduled in 1961, but an inadequate area was included fully to protect the archaeological remains. This scheduling extension rectifies the situation.

The chambered cairn is situated some 90m N of Skail, on the alluvial plain W of the River Naver at a height of about 125m OD. The cairn has been disturbed in antiquity, but was originally a round cairn about 18m in diameter, of Orkney-Cromarty type. Most of the smaller stones making up the body of the cairn have been removed, revealing a chamber of polygonal form with a transverse subdivision. The entrance to the chamber has probably been from the NE. Low turf-covered banks mark the perimeter of the mound which once covered the cairn, and a few larger stones hint at an external kerb. Although disturbed, the site retains the potential for important archaeological material to survive beneath the chamber and under the remains of the body of the cairn.

The area now to be scheduled is circular, 40m in diameter, to include the remains described and an area around them in which related archaeological evidence is likely to survive. The scheduled area is indicated in red on the accompanying map. The above-ground portions of the modern walkway and information panel are excluded from scheduling, to facilitate maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland