MHG2101 - Warehouse Five Cairn
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- BURIAL CAIRN (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
A cairn, one of group of five known as Cairns of Warehouse which may have been opened by Rhind in 1853 and Sinclair about 1862.
It is a low, grass-grown mound, 27ft diameter with a hollow in the centre but no structure exposed. If it is the cairn which was opened by Sinclair it was found to be 'of an entirely different structure from those in the immediate neighbourhood... ...This one was simply a huge pile of stones raised over a kistvaen composed of very massive slabs. The sides of the kistvaen were unfortunately so much broken up in the opening that its dimensions cannot now be accurately ascertained; but it seems to have been at least 8ft in length, about 4ft high and 3ft broad. In it were found the skull and bones of a human skeleton, lying on a quantity of sea beach. The bronze spearhead recorded as found in it is apparently an error. Although unlike the other cairns on the hill, the proportions of the structure seem very large for anything but a chamber of some type.
A S Henshall 1963; RCAHMS 1911; J Rhind 1854; J Sinclair 1865.
The small diameter, 9m, suggests that this cairn was not chambered. There is no trace of the central 'kistvaen'.
Survey at 1:10,000 Visited by OS 13 March 1972.
Anderson records that cairn contained a 'kist-vaen' in which were a skeleton and a bronze dagger or spearhead, now in the British Museum (Anderson 1870) Coles quoting Anderson classifies the weapon as an Early Bronze Age dagger or knife, although Miss Henshall (supra) queries the find.
J Anderson 1870; J M Coles 1971.
This cairn is not chambered. J L Davidson and A S Henshall 1991.
Sources/Archives (7)
- --- SHG1326 Text/Publication/Article: Anderson, J. 1866-68. 'On the horned cairns of Caithness, their structural arrangement, contents of chambers, &c.', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 7 1866-8, p.480-512. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 480-512. 502.
- --- SHG1412 Text/Publication/Article: Rhind, A H. 1854. 'Results of excavations in sepulchral cairns in the north of Scotland', Ulster J Archaeol Vol. 3 1854, p.99-108. Ulster J Archaeol. 99-108. 105.
- --- SHG1474 Text/Publication/Article: Coles, J M. 1971. 'Scottish Early Bronze Age metalwork', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 101 1968-9, p.1-110. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 1-110. 90.
- --- SHG2115 Text/Publication/Volume: Davidson, JL and Henshall, A S. 1991. The chambered cairns of Caithness: an inventory of the structures and their contents. 152, 156 no. 66.
- --- SHG2664 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1911. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Third report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Caithness. . 175.
- --- SHG3539 Text/Publication/Article: Sinclair, J. 1866. Memoirs of London Anthropological Soc 1865-6, p.232. Memoirs of London Anthropological Soc. 232. 233-4.
- --- SHG357 Text/Publication/Monograph: Henshall, A S. 1963. The chambered tombs of Scotland, Volume 1. 302-3, CAT 66.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred ND 3092 4234 (36m by 36m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | ND34SW |
| Civil Parish | WICK |
| Geographical Area | CAITHNESS |
Finds (1)
- DAGGER? (Bronze Age - 2400 BC to 551 BC)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/9082 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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