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<< Our Photo Pages >> Cairnholy 1 - Chambered Cairn in Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway

Submitted by vicky on Sunday, 18 January 2004  Page Views: 34359

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Cairnholy 1 Alternative Name: Carnholy I, Carn Holy, Cairn Holy; Kirkdale
Country: Scotland County: Dumfries and Galloway Type: Chambered Cairn
Nearest Town: Creetown  Nearest Village: Kirkdale / Carsluith
Map Ref: NX5176053890  Landranger Map Number: 83
Latitude: 54.857776N  Longitude: 4.310898W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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I have visited· I would like to visit

43559959 DonCristobal would like to visit

emerald visited on 21st Dec 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Spectacular

SandyG visited on 6th Sep 2017 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Jackanol visited on 1st Sep 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Anne T visited on 19th Sep 2014 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Cairn Holy 1: Having lived in Dumfries and Galloway for 10 years in the 1990s, we’ve driven by the signs to Cairn Holy on many an occasion, but never detoured to look. Now having seen the images, my husband described both these cairns as ‘like Pentre Ifan, but without the people’ (not quite, but almost!). Easy enough to find, these cairns can be reached by turning right off the A75 to Stranraer, up the signposted track. It was quiet, peaceful and atmospheric, with great views over the Fleet Bay and Wigtown Bay to the south. Our first glimpse of the stones at the first cairn gave the impression of tall, ragged teeth, challenging us to pass them. The rabbits had certainly had fun digging burrows in and around the mound, and I’m sure they must be making good use of any chambers/gaps underneath the turf. I loved this spot. I would love to see any excavation notes to see how similar or different this cairn is to the chambered cairns in Orkney that we saw.

SumDoood visited on 21st Dec 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

SolarMegalith visited on 7th Sep 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

graemefield visited on 20th May 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Richard13 visited on 1st Mar 2007 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

jeffrep visited on 19th Sep 2006 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

BolshieBoris visited on 1st Aug 1996 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5

jeniferj visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3

Runemage visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Gongoozler visited - their rating: Amb: 4 Access: 5

macd visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Another place I visit often, and it always looks wonderful no matter the weather or time of day. One of my favourite sites.

drolaf DrewParsons h_fenton AngieLake rldixon nicoladidsbury mark_a kelpie SumDoood HaggisAction coin have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.62 Ambience: 4.43 Access: 4.57

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by wolfnighthunter : Cairnholy 1 NX518539 (Vote or comment on this photo)
This chambered cairn in the Clyde Cairn tradition is composed of two chambers, although the one to the rear would not have been accessible due to the large blocking stone in front of it. This rear chamber may have been the original feature on the site with the front chamber, portal stones and concave facade added at a later date.

This is an absolutely fantastic site in a stunning location, easily accessed by driving along the signposted track from the A75. Cairnholy II lies a little further up the track leading to the B & B.

Further information can be found on Canmore ID 63716, which tells us: "this Clyde-type chambered cairn is a conspicuous monument measuring axially 170' x 50', with a monumental cresentic facade and a ruined chamber. Excavated by Piggott and Powell, the forecourt blocking was found to cover hearths, a stone-hole, and western Neolithic sherds. The chamber is bipartite, the outer section contained a fragment of a jadeite ceremonial axe, probably attributable to the earliest burials, together with sherds of western Neolithic pottery and a leaf-shaped arrowhead. Late grave-goods comprised Peterborough and Beaker sherds and a plano-convex flint knife. The rear compartment, though robbed, contained a secondary cist, with food vessel sherds and a cup-and-ring carved stone ...The jadeite axe is held in the Royal Museum of Scotland. "
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Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Bladup : Cairnholy 1. Don't you think in silhouette the wonderful facade stones of Cairnholy 1 look a lot like a silhouette of Callanish? This Original Artwork in a glass frame is £39.99 + Postage (Just whatever it costs), and is 15 and a half cm x 12 cm. A limited (to a 100) edition print in a 8" x 10" glass frame would be £19.99 + £2.90 postage, E-mail me at [email protected] if interested. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by h_fenton : Kite Aerial Photograph of Cairnholy 1 viewed from the east. 16 September 2010 @ 11.05am (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by h_fenton : Kite Aerial Photograph of the forecourt of Cairnholy 1. 16 September 2010 @10.27am (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by kelpie : The first chambered cairn of a pair at this site - NX 51763 53875 (5 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by nicoladidsbury : The sun had set (behind clouds, unfortunately) and so Terry (alias Bone_man) produced the light effects to allow us to take this photo. A really magic place (1 comment)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by col : Cairnholy I ritual site, a view of the forecourt.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Energyman : And this IS the full moon 24/11/18 18:21hrs. A magical moment. (1 comment)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Energyman : Pre-dawn 7am on the 24th Sep 2018 (1 comment)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Energyman : Morning shadows on the equinox from above. This is local noon (1.15pm) 23/9/18

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by MDunbar : My favourite Galloway Megalithic site.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Bladup : Cairnholy 1. (1 comment)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Runemage : Image by "Dave"

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by DrewParsons : View illustrating the magnificent curving facade to the twin chambered cairn. September 2010.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by TimFromHoveActually : Cairn Holy I looking down into the sealed rear chamber

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by TimFromHoveActually : Cairn Holy I from a third of the way along the monument looking back towards the forecourt. This gives an indication of the length of the monument.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by cerrig : Summer Sunrise.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Greengirl : Cairnholy 1 at noon on Spring Equinox (3 comments)

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by SandyG : View from above and west showing the pair of chambers and the blocking stone between them.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Anne T : Standing in front of the entrance to Cairnholy1 looking back towards the car park. Shame the skies were grey and the weather misty - the views into the bays beyond with the tides out were fantastic.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Bladup : Cairnholy 1.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by Bladup : Shadows at Cairnholy 1.

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by jimwithnoname : Beautiful site and much bigger than I imagined

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by graemefield : Cairnholy showing the length of the barrow with the stones in the distance. .

Cairnholy 1
Cairnholy 1 submitted by graemefield : Panorama photograph of Cairnholy 1.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 14m E 92° Cairnholy 2 (Rock Art)* Rock Art (NX5177453889)
 166m NNE 19° Cairnholy 2* Chambered Cairn (NX5182054045)
 330m NE 40° Kirkdale Burn* Cairn (NX5198354134)
 579m NNW 343° Cairnholy 9* Rock Art (NX51615445)
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 768m NNW 342° Cairnholy 4* Rock Art (NX51555463)
 921m N 349° Cairnholy 5* Rock Art (NX51615480)
 1.1km ESE 114° Bardristane 1* Rock Art (NX52735343)
 1.1km N 3° Cairnholy 6* Rock Art (NX51855496)
 2.1km N 358° Claughreid* Stone Circle (NX5177356005)
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 2.4km NW 323° Knock Gray Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NX5037055881)
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 3.1km NW 319° Bagbie Wall Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NX49795635)
 3.2km NW 320° Bagbie Four Poster* Stone Circle (NX49815638)
 3.2km NW 320° Bagbie cairn* Cairn (NX49795639)
 3.2km NW 320° Bagbie stones* Standing Stones (NX4979956401)
 3.4km NNE 18° Cauldside Burn Stone Circle* Stone Circle (NX52955711)
 3.5km NNE 18° Caulside Burn Cairn South* Cairn (NX52945714)
 3.5km ESE 120° Mossyard* Rock Art (NX54695204)
 3.5km NNE 17° Caulside Burn Stone Setting Stone Row / Alignment (NX52915722)
 3.5km NNE 17° Caulside Burn Cairn North* Cairn (NX52905725)
 3.5km ESE 110° Newton Cairn* Chambered Cairn (NX55065256)
 3.7km NNE 15° Penny Stone (Cambret Moor)* Rock Art (NX52855738)
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"Cairnholy 1" | Login/Create an Account | 18 News and Comments
  
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Re: Cairnholy I by drolaf on Friday, 30 October 2020
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you can park right next to the cairn (the lane up to it is single track very narrow) and straight in the gate, so wheelchair accessible.
It's a bit of a way up the lane to Cairnholy 2 (no parking there) and I think its a kissing gate.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by Rich32 on Monday, 04 February 2019
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CairnHoly 1 Inner panel
by dsmyth
on Sketchfab


[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by drolaf on Thursday, 27 September 2018
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Poor old Cairnholy 1. Much visited, mauled and poked by ‘enthusiasts’. Dogs running around clawing chunks of turf out of the covering, which will then erode rapidly. I don’t hold out much hope for the place. People seem to think that just the pokey out stones is the cairn, and ignore the main body, which admittedly has a farm track and stone walls driven at a slant right over it, so is pretty disfigured. The cairn has had much of its rear cairn cover stone fill removed, and the south side has slipped down the bank, tipping the revetment stones out at an angle.

What most people go to see is the forecourt uprights. The lines of oval egg sized pits on the north side portal upright are also found elsewhere locally with this stone type, so very likely is a weathering effect. The pattern is typical of fossil coral in Silurian rock.
The ever present 'Cairnholy Joe' showed me an interesting little area of pattern on the side of the south portal stone (pointed out to him by a fleeting visiting archaeologist) that is only seen by oblique light. This looks like carboniferous fossil tree-Stigmaria. The markings on this portal stone might suggest that it was not from the immediate locality, and was brought specially because of its fossil markings. The nearest source could be further round the coast to the East, or north at Sanquhar.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy 1 by Anne T on Thursday, 22 June 2017
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Some additional notes from Canmore ID 63716 which I found interesting: "On their hillside setting above Wigtown Bay, these two chambered tombs possess a range of dramatic visual qualities that are apparent under all lighting conditions. The lower or southern cairn (Cairnholy I) is quite majestic with its pillared eastern facade; set on a knoll some 150m to the north, Cairnholy II is not so grand but its portals and inner capstone give it a more mysterious aspect. These tombs are the best of the Clyde group of long cairns in the region, and their excavation in 1949 produced a rich assemblage of finds ..... Cairnholy I has been robbed of most of its overlying cairn material. In its final prehistoric form it was a long straight-sided mound, about 43m by 10m, aligned along the contour and extending beyond the present road. The inner burial-chamber with its massive side-slabs probably represents the nucleus of the tomb, and was covered with a small cairn. To this was later added an ante-chamber, and then a concave 'homed' facade comprising eight tall pillars. The forecourt seems to have been designed as a setting for ritual ceremonies. At least six fIres had been lit in this area before it was blocked for good, and indications of pottery-associated offerings were uncovered. A fragment of jadeite axe-blade found in the outer compartment may also have been related to these ceremonies. There is a large slab in the inner chamber which bears a weathered cup-mark with four or five concentric rings; it possibly roofed the last (cist) burial within this compartment A small cup-and-ring-marked slab found in the inner chamber is now in RMS (Royal Museum of Scotland)."
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Re: Cairnholy I by SumDoood on Wednesday, 30 March 2016
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Here's the report from 1949 of the excavations at Cairnholy 1, and 2, and of White Cairn, Bargrennan:

http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_083/83_103_161.pdf
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Re: Cairnholy I by SumDoood on Monday, 28 December 2015
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I've been asking what the "holy" in the place name might mean (other than the obvious), and a friend suggests: "Maybe from the word Ulaidh (pronounced oo-lee) which I think was an ancient group of people from Ireland which might make sense if it is in Galloway."

Wiki seems to take them back to no earlier than 4th century, but that doesn't automatically discount the suggestion. Your thoughts?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulaid#Early_history

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    Re: 'holy' by drolaf on Sunday, 07 October 2018
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    see comment on Cairn'holy' 2. on older maps this area is called Cairnhullie, hullie meaning a hollow, or valley, the Kirkdale glen.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by Runemage on Sunday, 11 April 2010
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Street View

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=54.859143204432,-4.309885026218(Cairnholy+2)&ie=UTF8&z=16&layer=c&cbll=54.857727,-4.31155&panoid=b6RmtkN7jttvnDVXO7Yv5Q&cbp=12,80.75,,2,-2.05
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by rockartuk on Tuesday, 18 November 2008
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Hi there,
A spiral on the portal stone? I've never seen nor heard of it. Was it a "recent" carving or a (very) faint one? A photo -or drawing- would be very helpful!
Thanks for posting this experience!
Cheers,
Jan

British Rock Art Collection
http://www.rockartuk.fotopic.net

[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Cairnholy I by nicoladidsbury on Tuesday, 18 November 2008
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    The cup and ring was very faint, looks very old and erroded, I couldn't manage to get a photo, it was too faint - it needs a tripod, low light, long shutter setting and torch, equipment that I didn't have on me on sunday.

    The other "carving" was not what you would call traditional rock art. But nevertheless very obvious once I "saw" it. I do have a photo of this, and will post it asap. I don't know if its rock art or if its natural, or natural enhanced. Whatever, the right hand portal stone is very different from the left hand stone, so makes me wonder if it has been deliberately enhanced to increase that difference.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Cairnholy I by nicoladidsbury on Tuesday, 18 November 2008
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    I've posted two photos - would be very interested in your thoughts...
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Cairnholy I by rockartuk on Wednesday, 19 November 2008
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      Hi there Nicola,
      Thanks a lot for posting the photos. That clears things up!
      Yes, I've seen those paw looking holes on the entrance stone but I wasn't triggered because it is so far from the traditional motifs which we see on and around the Cairnholy sites.
      The absence of pock marks suggest that they most probably are holes fabricated by mother Nature over thousands of years when the stone was still recumbent or part of an outcrop.
      I agree with you that they are placed in some sort of pattern but I couldn't make out a clockwise spiral. Maybe I looked from the wrong angle.
      Thanks again and we hope to hear/see more!
      Cheers,
      Jan

      PS: My old computer crashed and I lost my BRAC-contributors list. I'm sure you were on it under your own (nick-) name. Would you be so kind to send me a direct mail ([email protected])? Thanks!
      [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Cairnholy I by SumDoood on Monday, 24 June 2019
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      Where can I see these two photographs?
      [ Reply to This ]
        Re: Cairnholy I by Anne T on Monday, 24 June 2019
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        I think they are PID 44015 and PID 44014.

        There are quite a few photos on the Cairnholy 1 site page when you first bring it up (only the first 25 photos are displayed at first), so you need to 'click here' at the bottom of the site page to bring up the rest. Then scroll down to see nicholadidsbury's photos.

        Hope that helps. Apologies if I've got it wrong, but hopefully if you pull up the complete set of photographs, you'll be able to find those you want.
        [ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by nicoladidsbury on Tuesday, 18 November 2008
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Rock Art at Cairn Holy
I visited Cairn Holy on Sunday, and met a guy who showed us a cup and ring rock carving, very erroded and difficult to see, but most definately there. Then we noticed a strange spiral of "carving" on the right hand "portal" stone - has anyone else noticed these carvings before?
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by nicoladidsbury on Tuesday, 18 January 2005
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Information on the notice board at the Cairnholy I site

On this gently sloping hill above Kirkdale Glen are the two chambered tombs we know as Cairnholy I and II.
Tombs for the ancestors were important to the early farming communities that lived here in the neolithic period between 6000 and 4000 years ago.
The two tombs are essentially very similar, built to the same basic design but with important differences. This one is altogether more elaborate. They may not have been built at exactly the same time but they were certainly in use at the same time for at least part of their long lives as burial places. It is tempting to see this tomb at the focus for ceremonies, while the other functioned simply as a repository for the dead. Their chambers are very similar but here there is a magnificent curving facade of standing stones that forms the backcloth to a forecourt in front of the tomb.
The chambers of both tombs consist of an inner and an outer compartment. It is odd that the inner compartment was built as a box, closed and inaccessible from the outer one. It is thought that the inner chambers were the original tombs and that the out chambers, and the facade and forecourt here, were added later.
Little is known about the burials themselves for the acid soil conditions dissolved almost all the bones before the tombs were excavated in 1949. But objects buried with the dead survived, highlighting the surprisingly long-distance contacts of these primitive people. One item in particular was quite exotic - part of an axe made from jadeite, found in the outer chamber here. Jateite is a beautiful green stone that was imported from a source in the Alps, and jadeite axes were clearly prestigious objects reflecting the power and wealth of their owners.

[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cairnholy I by Andy B on Tuesday, 25 September 2001
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Stay at the Carnholy Farmhouse just feet from Carnholy II
http://www.dalbeattie.com/cairnholy/
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