Cairnholy

The Megalithic Cairnholy (I II) are 150 m apart on a hillside above the Kirkdale Gorge east of Carsluith at Wigtown Bay, in the county of Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. The sites are located above Kirkdale on the A75.

There are relatively well-preserved plants of Clyde tomb- type whose cairn, however, were removed but are now restored. In the surrounding hills there are numerous prehistoric monuments. The two 5000 year old plants are among the earliest monuments in the area. In addition to other Cairns ( Cairn Derry ) menhirs, stone circles and cup-and -ring markings are represented.

I Cairnholy

Get eight tall slender stones of slightly concave Exedra and many stones of the chamber. Particularly striking are the two of the three meter high portal stelae. They formed the access to the chamber, which was sealed off by a tall, narrow stone closure, for which there was a hole for anchoring to the ground. The cap stone is today overturned between the portal stelae. The Cairn was originally about 43 meters long and ten meters wide. The trapezoidal cairn that covered the chamber, west -east oriented. The chamber consisted of two parts, the part further back was also separated from the side closer to the input field by a closing stone.

Finds

During the excavations in 1949 by Stuart Piggott and T. G. E. Powell no burials were found, as the bones had dissolved in the acidic soil. Some grave goods were recovered. The most important are the part of an ax, made ​​of green jadeite originating from the Alps, and a leaf-shaped arrowhead. These additions come from the front of the chamber. Here also found shards of pottery. The rim of a vessel was discovered in the hole for the lock stone. In the rear chamber compartment only a few residues could be assured of grave goods at the time of excavation, including shards of containers and provided with a cup-and -ring stone marker with six concentric rings.

The forecourt of the grave complex was used for ritual ceremonies. Against the north of the entrance lying part of the exedra parts of a shallow vessel and a further discount from Pechstein were discovered near a small fire pit, which comes from the Isle of Arran. The hearth was later covered with soil in which the groups of four smaller hearths were found. How big was the interval between the hearths, could not yet be determined. A stone base on the border of the court against the two pillars portal marks another fireplace.

Construction phases

The inaccessible rear compartment of the chamber, which is also found in the grave conditioning Cairnholy II, suggests that the plants have been built in at least two phases. The inner part of the chamber is the older and it is believed that it was originally built as a stone box on a smaller Cairn. This was then expanded by the installation of a second chamber and its overlap with stones.

The 1.5 -meter-high stone closure between the rear and the front part of the chamber is substantially higher than the side plates of the chamber and makes access from the entrance area fro impossible. Grahem Ritchie noted that the erected at an early stage round Cairns in Scotland may have been recently accessible only by the removal of the upper part of the cairn and the lifting of the cap stone. Later, many of these facilities were expanded and provided with a façade and a high input. A walkable from this input her chamber, which was mostly well paved and the establishment of a forecourt suggest a change of use of the extended monuments.

In his excavations Piggott had added a section through the base of the monument at right angles to its axis. It turned out that other, smaller stones were used in the outer part of the Cairns apparently, than in the inner part. On the border of these two rock types larger, inwardly inclined stones were found, which are now interpreted as a limitation of an internal component. The outer edge stones were found in a slanting outward position.

The findings from Cairnholy, including jadeite ax be kept in the Royal Museum in Edinburgh.

Cairnholy II

A very similar in structure Cairnholy I, but smaller plant is Cairnholy II of this Cairn also contained a bipartite grave chamber. Except for the outgoing hill this grave is well preserved. One of the two portal stones is broken, a megalithic façade as Cairnholy I did not exist. Cairnholy II is located on a hill about 150 meters from the adjacent Cairn away. It may be that this remarkable, landmark visible has led to the local tradition, to connect the grave with the mythical Scottish king Galdus. This legend is, however, also for the nearby stone circle of Torhousekie.