Ri Cruin Cairn — The Ancient Codex

Ri Cruin Cairn, Argyll and Bute — Photo: Otter / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Ri Cruin is the most southerly cairn in the Kilmartin Glen linear cemetery, a Bronze Age burial cairn built between roughly 2200 BC and 1950 BC.

Ri Cruin marks the southern end of Kilmartin Glen’s linear cemetery, a Bronze Age burial cairn raised between roughly 2200 and 1950 BC. It was excavated three times — by the Reverend Mapleton in 1870, by Craw in 1929, and by V. Gordon Childe in 1936 — and later reused as a lime kiln before reconstruction removed the kiln’s traces.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

History

Ri Cruin is the most southerly cairn in the Kilmartin Glen linear cemetery, a Bronze Age burial cairn built between roughly 2200 BC and 1950 BC.

The cairn was excavated three times: by the Reverend Mapleton in 1870, by Craw in 1929, and by V. Gordon Childe in 1936.

In its later history the cairn was reused as a lime kiln; all traces of the kiln were removed when the site was reconstructed.

People

Reverend Mapleton

Antiquarian who carried out the first excavation of the cairn in 1870
Craw

Excavator of the cairn in 1929
Portrait: Swan Watson, Andrew / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

V. Gordon Childe

Archaeologist who excavated the cairn in 1936

Cultural influences

The cairn belongs to the Bronze Age burial tradition of the Kilmartin Glen linear cemetery, the line of cairns running south-by-southwest of Kilmartin village that forms part of what is generally reckoned mainland Scotland's densest surviving cluster of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments.

Connections

Kilmartin Glen linear cemetery

Ri Cruin is the southernmost of the five surviving cairns in this alignment
Nether Largie South Cairn

Oldest monument of the same linear cemetery — a Neolithic Clyde-type chambered cairn
Glebe Cairn

Northernmost cairn of the same linear cemetery, by Kilmartin village
Kilmartin Museum

Museum in Kilmartin village interpreting the glen's monuments

Discovery & excavation

The cairn was investigated in three separate excavations — by the Reverend Mapleton in 1870, by Craw in 1929, and by V. Gordon Childe in 1936. The site had been reused as a lime kiln, and all traces of the kiln were removed during a later reconstruction of the monument.

What to look for

The cist (burial chamber) at the heart of the cairn; one of the stones at Ri Cruin bears carvings.

What is said

Folklore and tradition, recorded as what is said — not as established fact.

Local tradition holds that a king may lie buried at Ri Cruin, though this is not archaeologically established. (local tradition, not archaeologically established)

Plan your visit

Location: 56.1171°N · 5.4996°W
Nearest settlement: Kilmartin
Access: Open access
Terrain: Easy going
Parking: Parking available nearby — see the official getting-here page.
Start point: Ri Cruin Cairn, Kilmartin Glen · Parking can be found at Lady Glassary Wood car park, which is a 550m walk from the Ri Cruin Cairn entrance. The walk is along a single track road with no pavement. · There is no parking at the monument itself. · Please note that the walk to the site includes walking on grass and a stile. · National grid reference - NR 825 971
Best time: Open year-round.
Start point: Lady Glassary Wood car park — There is no parking at the monument itself. HES states it is a 550m walk from Lady Glassary Wood car park.