Glebe Cairn
History, tourist information, and nearby accommodation
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Glebe Cairn
Glebe Cairn is an Early Bronze Age cairn with two burial chambers, located at the northern tip of the linear cemetery in Kilmartin Glen.
There are 5 burial cairns in a long row running down the glen. Glebe Cairn is the furthest north of the row, though not the first built. The cairn is about 30 metres across and rises 3 metres high.
The site was excavated in 1864, when a single cist, or burial chamber, was found at its centre. This cist contained a necklace made of jet, with 26 beads and a couple of spacer plates. Unfortunately, this necklace was later destroyed in a fire. However, other remains found during the excavation can still be seen. These include a ceramic vessel, on display in Kilmartin House Museum, which overlooks Glebe Cairn from the northern edge of the village.
A second, fragmented vessel was found in another cist near the centre of the cairn. Both of the vessels are similar to pots of the same date discovered in Ireland, so there is a possibility that they were imported from there.
The earliest construction on the site appears to have been a pair of concentric rings of stones in the southwest corner. This is probably contemporary with the central cist; that is, early Bronze Age.
It is a very short walk from Glebe Cairn to the Nether Largie cairns further down the glen.
About Glebe Cairn
Address: Kilmartin,
Argyll and Bute,
Scotland
Attraction Type: Prehistoric Site
Location: Off the A816 at the northern edge of Kilmartin village
Website: Glebe Cairn
Historic Scotland
Location
map
OS: NR832 989
Photo Credit: Patrick Mackie, licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence
Opening Details: Open access site, usually accessible at any reasonable time
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