On their hillside setting these two chambered tombs have a
dramatic visual view of the surrounding area.
Cairnholy 1 has been robbed of most of its overlying cairn
material. In its prehistoric form it was a straight-sided mound about
43 metres by 10 metres.
To this was later added an ante-chamber, and then a 'horned' facade
comprising eight tall pillars.
The forecourt seems to have been designed as a setting for
ritual ceremonies. Pottery-associated offerings along with a
fragment of jadeite axe-blade were found in the outer compartments
and may have been related to these ceremonies.
Cairnholy II
Cairnholy II is not so grand but its portals and inner capstone gives
it a more mysterious aspect. These cairns are the best of the Clyde
group of long cairns in the region, and their excavation in 1949
produced a rich assemblage of finds.
The cairn which originally covered Cairnholy II
has been much denuded,
leaving only its irregular oblong outline around the summit of the
hillock. Most of the stones evidently went into the construction of
dykes and buildings in the late 18th century, but robbing stopped at
the large slabs of the tomb itself. Found here were a leaf-shaped
arrowhead, a flint knife and beaker pottery.
The finds from both cairns are now in a Musium.
at
Kirkdale Glen.
The lower or southern cairn (Cairnholy 1)
is quite majestic with its pillared
eastern facade; set on a knoll overlooking Wigtown Bay.
From the car park at the lower site, Cairnholy 1
, there is a short walk up the farm track to
Cairnholy II.
