6,000-Year Old Cairn Found

Neolithic Kerb Cairn to the east of Mingary Castle

This site is less than a mile to the east of Mingary Castle, just beyond the lime kiln used to produce the mortar used to build its great walls.  Found by Ricky Clark, a member of the Ardnamurchan Estate’s staff, only a week ago, its main feature – arrowed – is what is probably a Neolithic kerb cairn, a burial mound which, in its original form, consisted of a great mound of stones over a ‘cist’, a tomb constructed of slabs of local stone, of which two are still visible in the centre of the circular structure.  The site was cleared on Saturday by members of the Ardnamurchan Community Archaeology group who, to be honest, were amazed at what they had found as it’s not marked on any archaeological maps of the area.  Also visible are two ancient walls and another circular structure just beyond the cairn, picked out by tufts of marsh grass, leaving the archaeological group plenty more to work on in the future.  Now named Erickson’s Cairn, the site will be registered with Archaeology Scotland.  More details on the Kilchoan Diary – link here.