Pink granite boulders form a robbed wedge-shaped mound near Longside. Cairn Catto is a Neolithic long cairn, a prehistoric elongated burial mound, scheduled by Historic Environment Scotland in 1973.
The surviving cairn is damaged but still readable in plan. Its south-west side has been heavily robbed, quarry scoops mark the south-east end, and two stone axes found there in 1885 are now held by the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
Cairn Catto lies southeast of Longside in Aberdeenshire.
It is a Neolithic long cairn aligned north-west to south-east.
The cairn is built from boulders of pink granite.
It tapers in breadth toward the north-west.
The south-west side has been heavily robbed.
Deep holes and quarry scoops at the south-east end show where stones were removed.
Two stone axes found at Cairn Catto in 1885 are housed at the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead.
Historic Environment Scotland designated it a scheduled monument on 6 July 1973.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 57.4694°N · 1.8780°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Moderate walking
Opening & admission
The source pack does not provide reliable current admission details; verify before travelling.
- The scheduled cairn lies by minor roads, but the pack gives no formal access details.
Nearby places
Fortified place · Medieval
New Slains Castle
Aberdeenshire
A cliff-top seat of the Earls of Erroll for over three hundred years, its Scots Baronial ruin now weathering above the North Sea.
Building or ruin · Medieval
Deer Abbey
Aberdeenshire
A rare surviving medieval Cistercian ruin in Buchan, carrying the name recorded in the margins of the celebrated Book of Deer.
Questions people ask
- What is Cairn Catto?
- It is a Neolithic long cairn near Longside in Aberdeenshire.
- What is a long cairn?
- A long cairn is an elongated prehistoric burial mound built from stone.
- What condition is it in?
- The pack says the south-west side has been heavily robbed and quarry scoops are visible at one end.
- What finds came from the site?
- Two stone axes found in 1885 are now in the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead.
Sources
Explore more: Tomb or burial places · Prehistoric · Aberdeenshire
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