Kinpurnie, Newtyle, Angus

Cairn:  OS Grid Reference – NO 2808 4069

Also Known as:

  1. Canmore ID 30914

Getting Here

The giant Kinpurnie cairn
The giant Kinpurnie cairn

From the large village of Newtyle, take the straight road west as if heading to Kettins.  About half-a-mile along, 100 yards or so past the turn-off to Kinpurnie Castle on your left – stop!  In the second field after the turn-off, halfway up the slope you’ll see a large circular rise in the land with a crown of large trees sitting thereon. That’s the cairn!

Archaeology & History

Not far from the impressive Keillor standing stone is this huge prehistoric tomb.  Measuring about 90 feet across and more than 7 feet high in places, the mass of rocks making up the site is now crowned by a healthy ring of trees.  Near the middle of it you can see a collapsed tomb or cist, but there may be more than one inside this giant fella.  Its size implies that it was a tomb or burial centre for tribal elders, leaders or shamans.  When we visited the site last week, the field was still in full crop, so we couldn’t take a close look at it and must return again at a later date.  Apart from a brief note of the site in the Royal Commission (1983) archaeology listing for the county, no details have been made of this huge cairn—which is incredible in itself!

References:

  1. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, The Archaeological Sites & Monuments of Central Angus, Angus District, Tayside Region, HMSO: Edinburgh 1983.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


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