Description

The monument comprises the remains of two prehistoric cairns, one chambered.

The cairns are set 420m apart, one either side of the Merki Burn. The S cairn is round, about 16m in diameter. It has a kerb of very large blocks intermittently visible around the outer edge. The entrance has been on the SE side, where the curvature is flattened, but little trace of entrance passage or the circular chamber once recorded can be made out in the tumbled interior.

This cairn stands just over 50m from the public road, upslope from it. The N cairn is approximately 10m in diameter. It is of large stones, but shows little trace of internal structure apart from a single slab which protrudes from the centre and may represent part of a chamber or cist. This cairn lies just over 100m from, and on a level with, the public road.

The area to be scheduled consists of two circular areas, each 30m in diameter and centred on their respective cairns. These include the cairns small areas around each in which evidence relating to their construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a pair of prehistoric burial cairns of disparate size but similar general plan. Taken together, they have the potential, through excavation and analysis, to provide information about prehistoric funerary practices and contemporary land-use.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HU 25 SE 3 and 25.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland