Grey Cairns of Camster

A little-visited, but truly fascinating site, for anyone interested in early occupants of this country, the Grey Cairns of Camster are amongst the best-preserved Neolithic chambered cairns in the British Isles and comprise a round cairn and a long cairn. Built around 3500 BC, the cairns are thought to have been in use as burial chambers and as ritual sites for several hundred years thereafter. When the cairns were excavated pottery, skeletons, burnt bone and flint tools were recovered from the round cairn. There is one central chamber in the round cairn, which retains its original roof, and two burial chambers in the long cairn. Careful restoration has made the cairns accessible to visitors. The cairn complex is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. The cairns lie on the road between Watten and Occumster.

The Grey Cairns of Camster appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Caithness!

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