Building record MAB39881 - BUCHARN CAIRN

Platform cairn, composed of bare stones and standing on a platform 33m in diameter, 0.80m high.

Platform cairn, composed of bare stones and standing on a platform 33m in diameter, 0.80m high. This platform may be an original feature but is more likely the result of field clearance and ploughing. The cairn is sited on the edge of a hill terrace with wide views across the Fiver Feugh. The cairn measures 27m in diameter and 4.5m in height. It is similar to cairn NO69SE0002, possibly a Wessex-type cairn. A semi-circular heap of stones to the W seems to be entirely field clearance. A measured survey of the cairn was carried out in January 2014 by AOC. The site was recorded using laser scanning and a series of visualisations and a 2D plan were produced. The cairn is generally in good condition, despite interference caused by later construction on and around the cairn body. The platform comprises a bank of large boulders forming a rounded trapezoid. It has been added to with recent field clearance but was designed to provide a level surface on which to build. A large mound of stone west of the cairn may have been a similar platform feature associated with the prehistoric construction. Both the cairn and the mound to the west have been used as a basis for later construction, the mound for two or possibly three buildings. Structures 1 and 2 appear to form two small conjoined buildings. The cairn has evidence of numerous interventions, although it is not clear which represent the construction of a small building or shelter and which may result from haphazard digging into the mound. The precise date and function of the various structures remains to be determined. The cairn was designated a Scheduled Monument in February 2014.

AAS/GR/XX/CT04, AAS/GR/XX/CT04 (Ground Photograph). SAB33152.

ORDNANCE SURVEY, 1871, Ordnance Name Book, No20(1864) 32 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1360.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, BUCHARN CAIRN, STRACHAN: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT, Survey report (Bibliographic reference). SAB3672.

ARCAHEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2015, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 15, 2014, pp35-6 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5542.

Feb 24 1993 , AAS/93/06/G15/12-5, AAS/93/06/G15/12-5 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB15551.

Jun 29 2004 , AAS/04/4/CT31, AAS/04/4/CT31 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB18061.

Mar 2 1995 , AAS/95/02/CT8, AAS/95/02/CT8 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB18409.

Mar 2 1995 , AAS/95/02/G3/16-21, AAS/95/02/G3/16-21 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB15678.

Mar 14 2001 , AAS/01/02/G3/29-30, AAS/01/02/G3/29-30 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB17635.

Mar 14 2001 , AAS/01/2/CT57,59, AAS/01/2/CT57,59 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB17636.

May 1 1985 , EO 1-6, EO 1-6 (Ground Photograph). SAB15552.

Record last edited

May 31 2022 3:04PM