Carn Ban, Arran
Carn Ban is a Neolithic chambered tomb on the Isle of Arran in Buteshire.
Description
- Location map: 55°29’17"N, 5°10’53"W
- Streetmap: NR99102618
Carn Ban is found in the remote, southern part of Isle of Arran, and a walk of four miles is required to reach the site.[1] It is on a steep south-west facing slope in a forest clearing partly covered in grass.[2]
This is considered as one of the most famous of the Neolithic long cairns of the firth and its surrounding counties.[1] It is of a type found across the region known as a 'Clyde cairn'.[1] Carn Ben is trapezoidal in shape,[1] with a semicircular forecourt at the upper northeast end.[2] The forecourt has an entrance leading into a long chamber divided into compartments by cross-slabs, similar to the arrangement at Torrylin Cairn, about three miles to the south-west.[1] The chamber of Carn Ban is 30 yards long and 20 yards broad.[1] The tomb was excavated in the late 19th century, but the only finds were a flint flake, an unburnt fragment of human bone, and a pitchstone flake.[2]
The site has been designated a scheduled ancient monument.[3]
Outside links
- Carn Ban: Historic Scotland