Description

The monument is a burial cairn of the earlier Bronze Age, about 3500 years old, situated on the summit of Dirrington Little Law. It measures approximately 26m in diameter and up to 2m in height. The cairn is unusually large compared with most other extant burial mounds in this area. It is likely to cover at least one burial of the earlier Bronze Age; by analogy with excavated sites, it seems certain that other burials would have been inserted into the body of the cairn. Burial, and ceremonial activity associated with the burials, will extend beyond the cairn. The particularly prominent siting of the cairn may imply that the person buried beneath it was of greater than normal importance to his or her community.

An area 60m in diameter, centred on the cairn, is proposed for scheduling, to include the cairn and an area around it in which remains of contemporary activity is likely to survive.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is very well preserved; it is of national importance because the burial deposits which it covers, and those which may have been inserted into the body of the cairn, are likely to survive undisturbed. The burials in the cairn would provide information of considerable importance about the burial rites of the earlier Bronze Age, and about the apparently important individuals buried there. In addition, the cairn covers an area of contemporary and earlier Bronze Age land; examination of the buried soil would provide information about land use in the period immediately prior to the cairn's construction. The monument is therefore of national importance to the themes of earlier Bronze Age burial and ceremonial practices and to the theme of prehistoric land use. It is of particular significance in earlier Bronze Age society in the area.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the site as NT65SE 3.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland