Scheduled Monument
Chambered cairn, 300m W of AchnacreebeagSM3767
Status: Designated
Documents
Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).
The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.
Summary
- Date Added
- 12/12/1975
- Last Date Amended
- 28/07/2026
- Type
- Prehistoric ritual and funerary: chambered cairn
- Local Authority
- Argyll And Bute
- Planning Authority
- Argyll And Bute
- Parish
- Ardchattan And Muckairn
- NGR
- NM 92970 36398
- Coordinates
- 192970, 736398
Description
The monument comprises the remains of a chambered cairn dating to the early Neolithic (4000BC – 3000BC). It is visible as a low oval mound, measuring about 20.7m from northwest to southeast by about 18m. Much of the overlying cairn has been robbed and the remains of two chambers built of large boulders are prominent amongst the surviving cairn material on the northwest and southeast of the cairn. The monument lies on level ground in pasture, at about 20m above sea level.
Small scale excavation has shown that the monument was built in two phases. In its first phase it was a simple chamber covered by a round mound. This chamber survives on the northwest of the cairn and is formed of five upright boulders and a granite capstone. A small passage grave was later added to the southeast side of the cairn and the cairn enlarged. The southeast chamber was entered through a passage measuring about 1.4m in length, 1.1m wide and about 0.9m high. The chamber is formed of seven large granite blocks with drystone walling between, the remains of which survive on the southeast of the cairn.
The scheduled area is circular, measuring 36m in diameter. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. All field gates and the above ground elements of all post and wire fences are specifically excluded to allow for their maintenance.
Statement of National Importance
The monument is of national importance as a chambered cairn of early Neolithic date. The cairn has been robbed but retains significant structural and physical remains in the form of the remains of two burial chambers and a spread of cairn material. It adds to our understanding of the design and construction of burial monuments, the nature of burial and ritual practices and their significance in Neolithic society. It can be compared with other chambered cairns that survive in the vicinity. As such it can enhance our understanding of Neolithic society and economy, as well as the nature of belief systems, burial and ceremonial practices. Although, now denuded of much of its overlying cairn material, the surviving remains indicate that it was of a significant scale. It would therefore have been a prominent and important component of the wider prehistoric landscape of settlement, agriculture and ritual and would have been a prominent part of the prehistoric landscape. Chambered cairns are one of our main sources of information for the Neolithic in Scotland and so are an important element in our understanding of the nature of Scotland's prehistoric society and landscape.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
About Scheduled Monuments
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.
Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the
scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).
The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.
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