Cairn Catto is one of few long cairns in NE Aberdeenshire, and is scheduled as a Site of Regional Significance. It is approx. 42m in length, lying on the typical alignment of long cairns across the country: NW to SE.
Long cairns date back to Neolithic times (approx. 4000BC), when people entombed their dead within stone cairns built by hand. How long do you think it would take to build a long cairn like this one?
Long cairns were sometimes chambered: their internal structure comprised of a series of passageways to individual chambers. Catto Cairn has had a number of large stones removed from its south-east end which archaeologists said revealed no signs of an internal structure. However a number of sources suggest the long cairn contained cists, whilst others think the indents in the cairns structure are due to stone robbing that was common in previous centuries. Which do you think more likely?
In 1885, two stone axe heads were found at Catto Cairn. These can be seen today at the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead. Perhaps these were placed at the site for those buried to use in their next life?
If you are careful you can follow the narrow fenced avenue which leads up to and around the cairn. This appears to have been created along an old stone dyke, and had been taken over by gorse which has recently been crudely cut down. The ground is quite uneven so please take care!
Please do not cross the fence circling the cairn itself; it is a scheduled archaeological site protected by law, and is also a very large mound of loose stones and therefore unsafe!
The cache itself can be easily reached without crossing any fences.