Kathryns things to do #2 - Cairn Holy Chambered Cairns
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Cairn Holy Chambered Cairns
A pair of marvellous Neolithic chambered cairns stand on a sloping hill looking south over Wigtown Bay. As best we can guess, the cairns were erected sometime around 4000 BCE. The first monument you come to is Cairn Holy I. This is of a type common in the region of south-west Scotland, called 'Clyde type' tombs. The cairn measures roughly 170 x 50 feet and is fronted by a crescent-shaped facade.
Behind the facade, guarded by slender standing stones, is a ruined chamber in two sections. In the outer section a jade axe, imported from somewhere in the Alps, was unearthed (it is now in the National Museum of Antiquities).
A blocking stone originally defended the inner chamber. It is likely that the inner chamber was the original, and that the outer chamber, facade, and forecourt were added later. Note the cup marks on one of the facade stones guarding the entrance to the cairn.
Other finds within the chamber include Neolithic pottery sherds, an arrowhead, and later pottery and a flint knife. There were further pottery sherds in the inner chamber, with a cup-and-ring marked stone.