Monument record MHG3637 - Ashiemoor

NH63SW 44 6159 3364.

(NH 6159 3364) Cathair Fhionn (NR)
(Centred NH 617 337) Cairns (NR)


'Cathair Fhionn' signifies 'Fingal's Chair' and is applied to a portion of a rocky ridge consisting of flat slabs which was, until shortly before 1871, in form of an armchair, where it is supposed Fingal rested after his battle with Ashie, the son of the Norwegian king. There are several heaps of stones or cairns in the immediate vicinity; they are supposed to mark the burying place of those killed in the battle.
There are six small cairns, 10' - 12' in diameter, very much scattered. Two have been hollowed in the centre. (ISSFC 1898)
Name Book 1871; A A Woodham 1963; ISSFC 1898.

All that can be seen at the published position of Cathair Fhionn is a stone clearance heap, one of several previously published as "cairns", which, together with others, occur in the area centred NH 615 336. They are probably of Iron Age period, but no huts or cultivation plots are discernible.
The name "Cathair Fhionn" and tradition of a battle are still known locally.
Visited by OS (N K B) 6 Feburary 1970.