Monument record MHG2198 - Chambered Cairn, West Yarrows

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred ND 3032 4406 (80m by 80m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet ND34SW
Old County CAITHNESS
Civil Parish WICK
Geographical Area CAITHNESS

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Yarehouse: Standing Stones (NR) : Pict's House (NR) (Remains of) OS 6" map, Caithness, 1st ed., (1871)

'Two stones about four feet in height situated at farm steading of Yarrows', remains of a Pict's House, the rest of which was used for building present dwelling house and steading (ONB 1871).
These stones are amost certainly remains of an Orkney-Cromarty type long cairn (Henshall 1963) of which outline was still visible in 1854. There were several cists in it and in NMAS are a cast of a granite battle-axe (AH 109), a brown stone ball (not of 'decorated type') (AS 37), and a decorated sandstone cup (AQ 25) from unknown parts of the cairn. Rhind (1854) visited site and his description agrees with ONB, without naming the steading.
Name Book 1871; A S Henshall 1963; A H Rhind 1854; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1894.

The battle-axe is of type 'Roe - Stage III - Bronze Age'.
FES Roe 1966.

This long cairn almost certainly stood in farmyard of West Yarrows, where stood the remains of 'Pict's House' (OS 6" map, Caithness, 1st ed., 1871).
The site is a low but prominent knoll, a typical cairn position and the most suitable in the area. There are no traces of the cairn to be seen, although a large displaced stone, 3m long, in farmyard, could well have been a capstone of a chamber.
Visited by OS (NKB) 11 May 1967.

Sources/Archives (6)

  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Rhind, A H. 1854. 'Results of excavations in sepulchral cairns in the north of Scotland', Ulster J Archaeol Vol. 3 1854, p.99-108. Ulster J Archaeol. 99-108. 107-8.
  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Roe, F E S. 1966. 'The battle-axe series in Britain', Proc Prehist Soc Vol. 32 1966, p.199-245. Proc Prehist Soc. 199-245. 218, 241, No. 379.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Davidson, JL and Henshall, A S. 1991. The chambered cairns of Caithness: an inventory of the structures and their contents. 93-4, no. 8.
  • --- Text/Publication/Monograph: Ordnance Survey. Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. 13. Book No. 13, 236.
  • --- Text/Publication/Monograph: Henshall, A S. 1963. The chambered tombs of Scotland, Volume 1. 260, CAT 8.
  • --- Text/Publication/Article: PSAS. 1895. 'Donations to and purchases for the Museum and library', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 29 1894-5, p.5-10, 63-7, 104-7, 206-10, 241-3, 272-7. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 5-10, 63-7, 104-7, 206-10. 5-7.

Finds (3)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jan 28 2008 12:00AM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the Heritage Portal maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.