Eigg, Laig
Cairn (Prehistoric), Axehead (Porcellanite)
Site Name Eigg, Laig
Classification Cairn (Prehistoric), Axehead (Porcellanite)
Alternative Name(s) Sidhean Na Cailleich; Silhean Na Caillleach
Canmore ID 22153
Site Number NM48NE 2
NGR NM 47066 88031
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/22153
- Council Highland
- Parish Small Isles
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Lochaber
- Former County Inverness-shire
NM48NE 2 470 879.
(NM 4706 8791) Sithean-nan-Cailleich (NAT)
OS 6" map (1903)
About 1853, when stones were being removed (for building purposes) from a long cairn called Sithean-nan Cailleach, two cists were revealed, made of flat stones set on edge and laid lengthwise. Articles of stone and bone are said to have been found in them. but immediately dispersed. A small polished stone axe (2 1/2" x 2") now in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS) may have been one.(Accession no: BN 46)
N MacPherson 1878
Sithen na Cailleich is a small natural spur now cultivated and showing no trace of antiquity. About 100.0m to the N on the crest of a ridge is a grass-covered mound strewn with field-gathered stones, measuring
about 18.0m NW-SE by 11.0m transversely and 1.0m maximum height. It cannot be ascertained whether it is natural or artificial.
Visited by OS (ISS) 5 May 1972.
The stone axe is held in the Royal Museum of Scotland under accession number NMS BN 46. It has been petrologically attributed to group IX (porcellanite from Tievebulliagh and Rathlin, Northern Ireland).
T H McK Clough and W A Cummins 1988.
Field Visit (6 July 2001)
This oval cairn stands on a slight rise in a field 80m SE of the road and 490m NE of Laig farmhouse. It measures 20m in length from NNE to SSW by 13m in breadth and stands to 1.3m in height. The cairn has been damaged by ploughing and animal burrowing, and the top has been supplemented by field clearance.
EIGG01 616
Visited by RCAHMS (AGCH) 6 July 2001
