Carn Ban, Arran
Coordinates: 55°29′17″N 5°10′53″W / 55.488061°N 5.181281°W
Carn Ban, viewed from the southeast | |
Shown within the Isle of Arran, Scotland | |
Location | Isle of Arran |
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Coordinates | 55°29′17″N 5°10′53″W / 55.488061°N 5.181281°W |
Type | Chambered burial tomb |
History | |
Periods | Neolithic |
Site notes | |
Ownership | Historic Scotland |
Public access | Yes |
Carn Ban is a Neolithic chambered tomb located on the Isle of Arran in Scotland (grid reference NR99102618).
Description
Carn Ban is situated in the southern part 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]
It is considered as one of the most famous of the Neolithic long cairns of south-west Scotland.[1] It is of a type found across south-west Scotland known as a Clyde cairn.[1] It 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 3 miles to the southwest.[1] The chamber of Carn Ban is 30 metres long and 18 metres 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]