Site type guide
Cairn
Cairn sites reveal how different traditions shape sacred space through architecture, landscape, ritual, and memory.
30 cairn sacred sites. Use the country and tradition filters to narrow in.
Atlas summary
Cairn sacred sites overview
Cairn sacred sites span countries, traditions, pilgrimage routes, and sacred landscapes represented in the Pilgrim Map atlas.
Use this guide to compare major country clusters, represented traditions, UNESCO-tagged places, and the map distribution before opening individual site pages.
| Coverage | 30 cairn sacred sites across the current atlas. |
|---|---|
| Major countries | |
| Traditions |
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30
Showing 1-30 of 30 sites in this site-type guide
Auchagallon Curved Cairn
Machrie, North Ayrshire, United Kingdom
On the west coast of the Isle of Arran, on a shelf of hillside above Machrie Bay, fifteen upright stones form a circle around the remains of a Bronze Age burial cairn....
Barpa Langass
Lochmaddy, United Kingdom
On the western flank of Ben Langass, a massive dome of stone rises from the moorland of North Uist....
Blackhammer Chambered Cairn
Rousay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On Rousay's southern coast, a short walk from the road, Blackhammer Chambered Cairn sits beneath its modern protective shelter....
Brora Pictish Cairn
Brora, Sutherland, United Kingdom
On the hills above the coastal town of Brora in Sutherland, a cairn attributed to the Pictish period stands as one of the least-documented monuments in a landscape dense...
Cairn of Get
Ulbster, Alba / Scotland, United Kingdom
On a windswept hillside in Scotland's far north, a stone chamber has held its silence for over five thousand years....
Camster Cairns
Lybster, Alba / Scotland, United Kingdom
On the windswept peatlands of Caithness, two stone cairns rise from the heather as they have for over five thousand years....
Camster Cairns - The Long Cairn
Lybster, Caithness, United Kingdom
Camster Long rises from the open peatland of Caithness like a stone vessel set down on the moor and forgotten by all but the wind....
Camster Cairns - The Round Cairn
Lybster, Caithness, United Kingdom
On the peatlands of Caithness, a circular mound of grey stone rises from the heather....
Clava Cairns
Inverness, Highland, United Kingdom
Set in a woodland clearing near Inverness, the Clava Cairns stand as monuments to Bronze Age beliefs about death and rebirth....
Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn
Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On Cuween Hill, a few miles west of Kirkwall on Mainland Orkney, a low passage leads into the earth and opens into a chambered tomb five thousand years old....
Dunchraigaig Cairn
Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
In one of Scotland's most concentrated sacred landscapes, Dunchraigaig Cairn has held the dead for four thousand years....
Giants' Graves
Whiting Bay, North Ayrshire, United Kingdom
On the eastern slopes of the Isle of Arran, above the village of Whiting Bay, two Neolithic chambered cairns stand in a clearing among the trees....
Glebe Cairn
Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
Glebe Cairn marks the northern entrance to Kilmartin Glen's linear cemetery, a two-kilometre alignment of burial monuments built and rebuilt across fifteen centuries....
Knowe of Lairo
Rousay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On the southwestern hillside of Rousay, overlooking Eynhallow Sound and the tidal island whose Norse name means Holy Island, the Knowe of Lairo stretches over forty-five...
Knowe of Yarso
Rousay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
High on a hillside above Eynhallow Sound, the Knowe of Yarso commands views that stretch across the water to Mainland Orkney and the hills beyond....
Maeshowe Chambered Cairn
Stenness, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On Mainland Orkney, a grass-covered mound rises seven metres above a surrounding ditch....
Midhowe Chambered Cairn
Rousay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On the western shore of Rousay, sheltered beneath a modern protective roof, lies the largest stalled cairn in Orkney....
Nether Largie Mid Cairn
Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
Nether Largie Mid Cairn stands at the heart of Kilmartin Glen's linear cemetery, a two-kilometer procession of burial monuments stretching across the floor of one of...
Nether Largie North Cairn
Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
Nether Largie North Cairn stands second in a line of five burial monuments stretching through Kilmartin Glen in Argyll, Scotland....
Nether Largie South Cairn
Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
In the heart of Kilmartin Glen, Nether Largie South Cairn has held its ground for more than five thousand years....
Quoyness Chambered Cairn
Sanday, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On the Elsness peninsula of Sanday, one of Orkney's northern isles, a chambered cairn of exceptional preservation stands near the shore....
Reineval Chambered Cairn
Lochboisdale, United Kingdom
On the northern slope of Beinn Reineabhal, overlooking the valley that descends to Mingarry and the Atlantic beyond, a massive stone mound rises from the moorland....
Ri Cruin Cairn
Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
Ri Cruin Cairn stands at the southern end of Kilmartin Glen's linear cemetery, a two-kilometre alignment of Bronze Age burial cairns running through the floor of an Argyll...
Ronas Hill Chambered Cairn
North Roe, United Kingdom
On the summit of Shetland's highest hill, Neolithic builders placed a chambered cairn for their dead....
Sammallahdenmäki
Rauma, Rauma / Lappi – Satakunta, Finland
Sammallahdenmäki is a cluster of 36 granite burial cairns raised on a forested ridge in Lappi, Rauma, between roughly 1500 and 500 BCE....
Taversoe Tuick Chambered Cairn
Rousay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
Near the pier at Trumland, on a hillside above Rousay's southern coast, Taversoe Tuick conceals an architectural anomaly....
Tomb of Eagles
South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On the southeastern tip of South Ronaldsay, where Orkney meets the open sea, a Neolithic chambered cairn stands near the cliff edge....
Torrylin Cairn
Kilmory, North Ayrshire, United Kingdom
On the south coast of Arran, beside the quiet waters of Kilmory Water, a low arrangement of stones marks where Neolithic communities brought their dead....
Unstan Chambered Cairn
Stenness, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
Unstan Chambered Cairn stands on a promontory reaching into the Loch of Stenness, where Neolithic communities placed their dead between land and water for over a thousand...
Vinquoy Chambered Cairn
Eday, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
On the summit of Vinquoy Hill, the highest point on the island of Eday in Orkney, a Neolithic chambered cairn commands views across Calf Sound and the northern isles....
Key questions
Cairn sacred-site questions
- What cairn sacred sites are included?
- Cairn sacred sites are places where this site type carries religious, ritual, cultural, or pilgrimage significance. This guide lists 30 in the current Pilgrim Map atlas.
- Where are these cairn sites located?
- Major country clusters include United Kingdom, Finland.
- Which traditions are represented?
- Traditions represented here include Celtic and Prehistoric, Christianity, Finnish Prehistoric (Bronze Age Cairn Burial).
- Can I view cairn sacred sites on a map?
- Yes. Compare the country and tradition clusters, switch to map view for geography, then use site pages for practical context and related places.