By: Blonde One
In recent posts the Two Blondes have made several references to cairns and I began to wonder about their history and thought I would do some research. The main reason for the Two Blondes relationship with cairns recently is as a navigation feature – especially at night. They’re a really handy feature to aim for when practicing map and compass skills and we have become quite slick at finding them. Apparently lots of cairns are modern ones that have been built purely for this reason: to aid navigation. I’m a bit protective about Dartmoor and I don’t like to think that people have built cairns in recent times. I prefer to imagine that they are all Bronze Age or older and used to contain may wonderful treasures, human and non-human (which unfortunately have now been pilfered). Beneath ancient cairns there will usually be a kist (like a stone grave). Often kists are exposed on Dartmoor and they are quite striking to look at. The Two Blondes have often marvelled at how a body would fit into such a small hole in the ground and I have discovered that in fact the bodies would have been cremated. It’s a sad thing that cairns have been damaged or raided but I was pleased to find out that it is actually an offence to destroy/damage them as they are classed as a ‘monument’.
So watch out, if you are one of the naughty cairn robbers: I will be researching my powers of citizen’s arrest!
Interesting, in the Lake District a group of” traditionalists” started to destroy modern cairns on the grounds they were unnatural and blighted the land. The practice of building cairns passed into common practice, many people robbing long standing cairns to start new ones. Many just displacing large rocks (well big stones) to build a cairn with no real purpose as a waymarker.
The National Park stepped in and prohibited the creation of new cairns as it was upsetting the natural landscape.
We once came across a spot by the roadside in Scotland (can’t remember where exactly) where there were loads of tiny cairns. It was a beautiful spot but a bit odd looking. My hubby build a cairn for me in Iceland on one of his trips – I like the thought but I get the idea of not disturbing the landscape (still hope mine is still there).
You must’ve seen the feature on Inside Out on the latest Cist discovery in one of the peat passes???? Fasinating – glad that they haven’t all been discovered and looted.
I have to admit to liking the little navigational cairns in the lake District. Having stomped to the top of Scafell Pike leaving on the correct path is a bit tricky to start off with. The little cairns that sprung up every few metres helped to reassure us that we were descending a path and not some random scree slope!!!
Just imagine if on one of those cairns you found an epitaph as you probably be interested to know something about the person buried there.
It may say something like this….’Beneath this sod lies another one’
Now that would be something to reflect on!
In two thousands years someone will dig up a Dartmoor cairn and there will be a pot of multi-coloured gooey sticky shapes preserved next to the remains of two ladies with wisps of blonde hair.