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MHG13050 - Chambered cairn - Lyne

Summary

A chambered cairn near Lyne.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A chambered cairn near Lyne.

NC21SE 10 2553 1454.

At NC 2553 1454, on a shelf in a SW-facing hillside, is a cairn. It measures approximately 13.5m E-W by 12.0m transversely and is 1.2m high; the E quarter is turf-covered but elsewhere the stone content is exposed. There has been slip on to the slope, particularly in the NW but generally the cairn seems undisturbed. There is no indication of a cist, chamber, or kerb. There is some appearance of a slight horn on the E periphery of the cairn but it could be fortuitous.
Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (J M) 12 August 1980.

Visited by the Assynt's Hidden Lives project in November 2009. Situated at the top of a gully overlooking the River Ledbeg to the south is an uneven, stony, grass covered, circular mound. The position of the unstructured rubble heap at the top of the gully means heightens the impression on the viewer when seen from the south. The cairn is about 15m in diameter, 2m high to the south-east, 1.4m high to the north. There are no obvious structural features visible nor is the position of an entrance apparent. Smaller spreads of stone to the SW may be related features, though these are not clear. A short length of curvilinear earth/stone bank is visible on the terraced platform below the cairn; the purpose of this is unclear although it may define a forcourt area. Followig initial recording, the site was subsequently surveyed in detail as part of a more focussed survey on selected representative sites. Recorded as a well preserved chambered cairn, located near the 220m OD contour overlooking Lyne and Ledbeg. The cairn comprises a teardrop-shaped mound of stones averaging c.40cm in diameter, located on a shoulder of rock overlooking a steep SW-facing slope. Directly beneath the cairn is a roughly circular scarped platform (C ), bounded by a curvilinear bank c.2m in width and standing up to 0.5m in height to the NW (B). The function of this feature is not apparent, but the position of the platform below the cairn serves to create a ‘forecourt’ area, which is enhanced by the natural slope upon which the cairn is positioned. It is possible that this arrangement was deliberately chosen to enhance the impression of the cairn when viewed from below; this characteristic of using the natural topography to enhance the impression of the monument is common to many of the Assynt cairns. The views of the valley from this site are commanding, and the large cairn on the opposite side of the valley, at Cnoc Bad na Cleithe, is clearly visible. Contour and topographic survey of the site was conducted. <1>

The cairn was assessed for possible scheduling by Historic Environment Scotland in 2018. This came into effect as of 29/08/2019. <2>

GIS spatial data amended in 2019 according to feature as seen on 2009 vertical APs. <3>

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 2553 1455 (22m by 22m)
Map sheet	NC21SE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	ASSYNT

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (2)