Aberdeenshire HER - NJ96SE0001 - MEMSIE CAIRN

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Main Details

Primary ReferenceNJ96SE0001
NameMEMSIE CAIRN
NRHE Card No.NJ96SE1
NRHE Numlink 20804
HES SM No. 90216
HES LB No. NULL
Site Form Standing Structure
Site Condition Complete 2
Details Cairn, surviving as an impressive large sub-circular structure of bare stones, measuring 24 m in diameter and 4.4 m high. The cairn is the sole survivor of a cemetery of three large cairns clustered on the long low ridge of Cairn Muir and extant in the 18th century. In the 1740s the cairns were reported to be about 90m apart and originally circa 90 m in circumference and about 12m high. The other two cairns, and other smaller cairns in the vicinity, have long been destroyed (See NJ96SE0027). Antiquarian excavations recovered a beaker and a broken leaf-shaped bronze sword (although it is unclear whether antiquarian reports of excavations at Memsie refer to the surviving or one of the destroyed cairns). Also found were bones, a flint 'dart-head' and a 'little block of flint'. The cairn's plain, unardorned profile and absence of vegetation are typical of the larger Bronze Age cairns of the region. It is a rare survival in an intensively farmed area where much of the archaeology has been destroyed or ploughed flat.
Last Update29/12/2023
Updated Bycpalmer
Compiler 
Date of Compilation08/07/1985

Google Map for NJ96SE0001

National Grid Reference: NJ 9766 6205



Event Details


Excavations and Surveys


Artefact and Ecofact

Date MDate YArtefact TypeFinderRecovery MethodConditionStorage LocationAccess No.
   BEAKER Excavation Unknown Unknown  
   SWORD Excavation Unknown Unknown  
   FLINTS Excavation Unknown Unknown  

Ecofact

Samples
Palynology
Ecofact Notes

Monument Types

Monument Type 1Monument Type 2Monument Type 3OrderProbability
CAIRNS  A100
BONESHUMAN B100
FLINTS  C100
BEAKERS  D100
SWORDS LEAF-SHAPEDE100