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MHG65879 - Cairnfield - Leirinmore

Summary

A field with four oblong cairns and several circular cairns.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status

Full Description

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow.

In the township of Leirinmore is a field with four oblong cairns and several circular cairns. The oblong cairns have 1-2 courses of boulders forming a base on to which smaller stones have been heaped to a total height of c 0.8 m. The largest of these is at the S of the field and measures 11 m E-W by 2 m and the other three are strung across the field to the N and measure 4 m N-S by 2 m, 10 m E-W by 2 m and 8 m E-W by 2 m. At the west of this line there is a concentration of 5 small, circular cairns and possible cultivation-marks at the S of these. The base of the oblong cairns are well constructed and neatly shaped raising the possibility that these are structural foundations on to which clearance material has been heaped. The modern boundaries at either side of the field have traces of an earlier stone dyke on the same alignment.<1>

NGR adjusted based on 2020 vertical aerial photographs. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 4230 6679 (172m by 98m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC46NW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	DURNESS

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Related Investigations/Events (1)

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