Skye, Coille Grulla, Glen Brittle

Cairn, Chambered (?), Loch Eynort.

On a small plateau on the steep south-western slope of Coille Grula, about 1 mile east-north-east of Kraiknish and about 200 yards from the eastern shore of Loch Eynort, at an elevation of about 150 feet above sea-level, are the remains of a cairn. It is circular and now measures some 27 feet in diameter and 4 feet in height. The cairn seems to have been reduced in size, as the cover stone of a central chamber has been laid bare. This slab of irregular shape measures 5 feet 6 inches in length, 3 feet in breadth, and 1 foot in thickness. The interior of the chamber beneath is exposed by a gap in the building under the north side of the cover and is seen to be circular, measuring about 4 feet in diameter above the debris with which it is more than half full. The wall of the chamber is formed of drystone building, no upright slabs being noticeable, and is of beehive shape. There is no trace of an entrance passage.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 15 May 1915

OS map ref: Skye xxxiii (unnoted)

NG32SE 1 3779 2394.

On a small plateau on the steep SW slope of Coille Grulla, about 1 mile ENE of Kraiknish and about 200 yards from the E shore of Loch Eynort, at an elevation of about 150' OD, are the remains of a circular cairn some 27' in diameter and 4' in height. It seems to have been reduced in height as the cover stone of the central chamber has been laid bare (RCAHMS 1928, 147).

The central chamber was excavated in 1929 and found to be pentagonal in shape, about 4' in diameter, and formed of six vertical slabs all rising to a height of about 2' from the floor which was composed of small neatly fitted slabs of irregular shape. The chamber contained two beakers, type CA and CB, (Mitchell 1934, 183) and a tiny flint button scraper 0.7" in length.

Both the beakers were retained by Lindsay Scott (1929, 165-6).

The RCAHMS in their report suggest that the chamber was of beehive shape but this was not borne out by excavation. Their statement that there is no trace of an entrance passage is apparently accepted by the excavator and points to this being a cairn with short cist and not a chambered cairn.

Information from OS (C F W) 8 December 1960.

Sources: RCAHMS 1928; Antiquity 3, 1929, 486; Scott 1929; Scott 1932; Mitchell 1934.

Sited at NG 3779 2394: as described above.

Visited by OS (A S P) 7 June 1961.

The two Beakers recovered from this site in 1929 are held by National Museums Scotland, reference nos. NMS X.EG 62 and X.EG 63.

Information in an email from Alison Sheridan (NMS) to George Geddes (HES), 5 July 2016.

This moss-grown Bronze Age cairn stands on a W-facing slope in a dense coniferous plantation between two overgrown forestry roads and about 10m N of an unnamed stream. The cairn has been damaged by forestry ploughing which extends across its northern edge and clips the remaining sides; two mature conifers are growing out of the SE quadrant. Though originally recorded as circular, the visible remains of the cairn measure about 9.5m from E to W by 4.8m transversely and up to 0.8m in height. Two trenches have been excavated into the cairn. The larger, southern, trench measures 2.5m by 1.5m and 0.5m in depth, the other 1.5m square and 0.3m in depth. Additional cairn material to the S is probably spoil from the excavation.

A second cairn that stands about 20m to the NNE measures 5.8m from E to W by 4m transversely and 1m in height. Its steep sides and proximity to the forestry track suggest that it may be modern.

Visited by HES Survey and Recording (GG, OA, MM) 1 September 2016.