Camster Long Chambered Cairn

Camster Long forms part of the Grey Cairns of Camster in Caithness. Its elongated mound measures approximately sixty metres by twenty metres and contains two burial chambers. One interpretation proposes that the chambers originally stood in separate round cairns which were later joined within a long mound, although that construction sequence remains debated. The monument probably originated early in the fourth millennium BC. Nineteenth-century excavation recovered human remains, confirming its funerary use. Before excavation, raised areas along the mound’s spine marked the positions of its internal structures. A forecourt at the north-eastern end provided an external architectural setting but was not an entrance passage to the chambers. Modern reconstruction restored much of the cairn’s visible form. The present mound therefore combines surviving Neolithic structures with conservation work intended to display its scale and arrangement. Period: Neolithic; probably early fourth millennium BC Grid reference: ND 2601 4420 Protection: Source: Historic Environment Scotland, https://www.trove.scot/place/8686 (Open Government Licence). Contains Historic Environment Scotland data licensed under the Open Government Licence; source compiler retained per record. Banner photo: "Camster chambered long cairn - geograph.org.uk - 6714323" by Sandy Gerrard, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.