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Altnacealgach Hotel
Cairn (Prehistoric)
Site Name Altnacealgach Hotel
Classification Cairn (Prehistoric)
Alternative Name(s) Loch Borrolan; Altnacealgach Inn
Canmore ID 4627
Site Number NC21SE 3
NGR NC 26528 11033
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/4627
- Council Highland
- Parish Assynt
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Sutherland
- Former County Sutherland
NC21SE 3 2653 1104.
(NC 265 111) Cairn, Loch Borralan: Abot 400 yds NNW of Aultnacealgach Hotel on the side of the hill, and about 100' above Loch Borralan, is a circular cairn c. 50' in diameter and from 5' - 6' high. There is an irregular depression on the top, and some large stones have been displaced, but no chamber or cist has been revealed. The cairn has been broken into for a short distance on the E side.
RCAHMS 1911.
NC 26531104. A well-preserved cairn measuring 15.0m E-W x 17.0m N-S x 1.5m high. The existence of a chamber and passage is suggested by depressions probably caused by the collapse of roofing stones, and there are several significantly large stones on the top of the cairn.
Visited by OS (G H P) 2 June 1962.
(NC 2655 1104) Cairn (NR)
OS 6"map, (1966)
A cairn, generally as described by RCAHMS. Despite the disturbances on the top and in the E, there is no sign of a chamber, though the size of the mound and its proximity to other chambered cairns suggest that it too may be chambered.
Visited by OS (J M) 9 July 1974.
No change.
Revised at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (N K B) 2 September 1980.
Field Visit (11 June 1909)
15. Cairn, Loch Borralan. About 400 yards NNW. of Aultnacealgach Hotel, on the side of the hill, and about 100' above Loch Borrolan, is a circular cairn, with a diameter of some 50' and height of from 5' to 6'. There is an irregular depression on the top, and some large stones have been displaced, but no chamber or cist has been revealed. The cairn has been broken into for a short distance on the E. side.
OS 6-inch map: Sutherland Sheet xci. (unnoted).
RCAHMS 1911, visited (AOC) 11th June 1909.
Field Visit (23 November 2009)
This cairn is situated next to a stream in a hollow leading down to Loch Borralan, on a steepish, undulating slope. The site comprises a stone mound measuring 17m by 15m aligned N/S with a height of between 1.5 and 2m. Much of the top and outside of the cairn is moss and heather covered, similar to the surrounding terrain. The cairn consists of a stone pile within which a central chamber made up of sub-angular stones (ave. 30-40cm long) is visible. The stones are be mostly gathered although some larger (over 1m long) stones appear to be quarried/shaped. The probable entrance on the south side comprises two wall faces, four courses high, creating a passage 1.5m wide which leads to a rubble filled chamber measuring 3m by 1.8m internally. The wall faces of the passage may not be original, and seem indicative of the secondary reuse of the site.
(HLP_no 2)
Assynt's Hidden Lives Project 2009
