Publication Account
Date 1997
Event ID 1017143
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1017143
The cairn on the very summit is modern, and the prehistoric cairn is just to the south. It is sadly ruinous after much robbing and disturbance in the mid 19th century, but it is still a very large pile of huge boulders and conveys the awesome task of its builders. Two chambers or cists were found but neither is now visible, and the human and animal bones that were discovered are now lost. To judge by the debris on the north-west side of the hill, much of the cairn material was cast down to help build the modern field wall. From this vantage point, there is a good view of the second cairn on the lower ground.
Muckle Heog West cairn was a large heel-shaped cairn but is now much spread beyond the facade. Again very large boulders were used, and there are two large cists visible within the cairn (two more were seen in the 19th century). The back of the cairn has been destroyed by the modern wall, and it was originally about 15m across.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Shetland’, (1997).
