Publication Account

Date 1996

Event ID 1016532

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016532

This magnificent long cairn, apparently unchambered, stands at 244m OD, just below the crest of a saddle between two prominent hills in the centre of the Howe of Cromar, with a view to the north. It is thus at the hub of one of the areas of greatest interest to the first farmers, who settled these gentle slopes nearly 6000 years ago. The great cairn of grey bare boulders is 53.3m long, 18.3m wide and a maximum of 1.8 m high. Its long axis is ESE-WNW. At the east end is a wide, shallow forecourt, defined by two horns, from 0.31m to 0.61m high, which project about 3m beyond the main body of the cairn. 12m from the east end there is a distinct hollow in the cairn material, which corresponds to the pronounced 'waist' or constriction that is visible in plan. There is therefore the possibility that this is a two-stage monument, simi lar to Longmanhill near Banff (NJ 737620) .

The Balnagowan cairn is intervisible with one on the hillside to the west, at Belnacraig (NJ 478008). (See also no. 79 for a field system.)

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Aberdeen and North-East Scotland’, (1996).