Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016652
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016652
This trapezoidal Clyde-type chambered cairn is situated on sloping ground at a height of about 275 ID. Its location in so remote a spot is unusual for the chambered cairns of Arran, as the majority are found close to arable ground, but its very remoteness has helped to preserve it from the depredations of stone robbers, and it remains one of Arran's best-preserved neolithic cairns.
The cairn, which is aligned north-east/south-west, measures about 30m by 18m and 4.5m in greatest height; at the north-east end there is a semi-circular forecourt flanked by two square-ended 'horns' projecting from the main body of the mound. At the centre of the forecourt a pair of portal stones marks the entrance to a chamber, which, before excavation in the late 19th century, still remained intact-Cam Ban was the only neolithic cairn on Arran to retain its roofed chamber. Unfortunately, the roofing lintels have now collapsed, although one can still be seen lying nearby, but the chamber was about 5.6m long with four compartments, each separated by a septal slab, and it stood to the considerable height of 2. 7 4 ID.
At the centre of the south-west end of the cairn, and in line with the main chamber, there are several stones which probably indicate the position of a second chamber. Such additional chambers are comparatively common features in chambered cairns, and either they are inserted to accommodate secondary burials, or they mark an earlier phase in the development of the cairn in which a primary mound (with its chamber) has been incorporated into a greatly expanded cairn.
At Cam Ban there is no evidence to suggest which is the case, and only a properly controlled excavation will be able to reveal the answer.
In terms of finds, the 19th century excavations were rather disappointing; the only objects recovered were two flakes, one of Arran pitchstone and the other of flint. The acid soil conditions had reduced any skeletons present to a single fragment of a long bone and a burnt piece of possibly human bone.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Clyde Estuary and Central Region’, (1985).
