Archaeology Notes
Event ID 645763
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/645763
HY43SW 12 4354 3214.
(HY 435 321) 'Bigland Long Cairn', an Orkney-Cromarty stalled cairn, lies in the bottom of the valley, between Bigland and Swandale farms and is crossed by the boundary fence. It has been considerably disturbed and robbed, and is now turf-covered. It measures approximately 80ft by 40, and is about 3ft high, with the main axis NW-SE.
On the NE side a small length of wall is exposed indicating the actual width of the cairn is about 26ft. A number of stones just project through the turf; these are best interpreted as the back and divisional stones of two chambers. The larger chamber, to the NW, is aligned along the main axis. It is about 38ft long and is divided into six compartments. A small secondary chamber has been constructed to the SE, and has evidently blocked the entrance to the larger chamber. It is aligned on a different axis, the entrance facing ESE, and is approximately 16ft long with only two divisional stones surviving. The passage has been destroyed.
A S Henshall 1963; RCAHMS 1946. Visited 1935.
A chambered cairn at HY 4354 3214, mainly as described and planned by Henshall.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS(ISS) 18 October 1972.